The Cards That Life Deals You
by LipstickOnMyLollipop
Summary: Eight year old Jade West has developed her very first crush on her babysitter, Tori Vega. So how exactly does such an innocent little crush make such a huge mess?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

It was a particularly sunny day in Los Angeles; the rays seemed to favor Hollywood Heights especially that Saturday morning. Sounds of breakfast being made emanated from the kitchen while the birds chirped and made their peaceful noises outside.

The TV was going in the living room when eight year old Jade West padded out of her bedroom in her navy blue pajamas. Her father was speaking in hushed tones with a feminine voice down the hall.

"… we just moved in a couple weeks a-" As soon as Jade made it behind her father and peeped around his leg, her blue eyes met pretty brown ones that reminded her of her mother's daily hazelnut coffee. A bright smile lit up the face of the peppy teenager and she knelt down to Jade's level while stopping mid sentence.

"Hi, you must be Jade!" The brown eyed girl beamed with an inner shine that seemed to radiate around her body. Jade's eyebrows dug down and she looked up at her father with a curious glance.

"Jade, sweetie, meet your new babysitter. This is Victoria." The man's deep voice turned soft while speaking to his only child, and while Jade was a handful, she was his pride and joy. Blue eyes rolled in annoyance as she turned the opposite direction and padded off down the hallway toward the kitchen. With the intention of getting rid of her newest babysitter, she went to her mother first.

Pale hands gripped the edge of the doorway as she peered around the corner and caught her mother humming happily to herself and pouring pancake mix into a hot pan. Seconds later, Jade made herself known and padded quietly over to her mother.

"Mommy, I don't like this babysitter." She stated bluntly with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. Mrs. West laughed good-naturedly and piled pancakes, bacon, and eggs onto a plate.

"Honey, you haven't even talked to her yet. I had a lovely conversation with her yesterday and she's… different than your other sitters." A warm smile tugged on the woman's lips.

Her blonde hair swung forward as she leaned down to pick up Jade, the girl was pretty small for her age. The pale girl pouted and leaned her head against her mother's shoulder as she turned off the stove and made her way back down the hall to properly introduce Victoria to her daughter.

The youngest of the West's had her face hidden in the crook of her mother's neck when they reached her new babysitter.

Victoria shoved her hands into her back pockets and rocked backwards on the heels of her clean, bright red converse. She really hoped that her nervousness wasn't obvious, as this was her first babysitting job and she was pretty sure that she was off to a bad start if the kid she was babysitting didn't like her.

A timid smile found its way to her slightly thin lips and she pulled one hand from her pocket to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"Mrs. West." Victoria laughed a little to ease her nerves.

"Did I come at a bad time?" The tan teenager asked, referring to the mood that Jade seemed to be in.

"No, no, dear. She's always like this. I don't know where she gets it from, but my guess is from his mother." Mrs. West jerked her thumb in the direction of Jade's father with a kind-hearted smile on her lips to show that she was only joking.

Mr. West rolled his eyes and chuckled as he took Jade from her mother's arms and into his own, only to then place her on the floor.

"I don't know why you baby her. Let her walk around on her own." Mr. West grumbled and ruffled Jade's hair. Mrs. West sighed and shook her head at him before she turned her bright smile back onto Tori.

"Do you mind watching her today? We're leaving after breakfast." She asked hopefully. Finding a sitter last minuet was out of the question, at worst, they'd have to just stay home.

Victoria shook her head and smiled, elated that she could begin her job early.

"No, I don't mind at all!" The brunette's smile came back full force and she had to stop herself from bouncing on her feet. Having her own money to spend was something that she wasn't used to and this was an exciting moment for her.

Leaning against the wall with the most pathetic, dramatic pout, was little Jade who looked about ready to burst into tears of frustration when her mother asked Victoria if she'd like to stay for breakfast.

The teen of course said yes, and they all gathered around the table. Jade sat across from her new sitter, all the while glaring daggers at her as she herself shoveled strawberry and whipped cream pancakes into her mouth.

While no one was looking, Jade flicked a piece of bacon at Victoria's head and unfortunately for Jade, she laughed it off good-naturedly and called her adorable.

Jade _hated_ being called adorable, it was a word reserved for babies and small animals, and she was neither. When the sounds of forks scraping against the plates subsided and everyone finished eating, Jade pretended to drop her own fork and crawled beneath the table to retrieve it. While down there, she made quick work of tying Victoria's shoelaces together and soon emerged from beneath the table.

She was feeling cocky since that trick always worked on babysitters their first days of watching her. This time, however, as soon as her head came up from beneath the table, Victoria's eyes locked on hers and a perfectly shaped eyebrow quirked at her antics.

With a calm smile, Jade's new babysitter pulled her shiny new converse up onto the edge of the chair and untied her laces from each other before tying them appropriately and letting them drop down onto the floor once again. Needless to say, Jade was furious.

* * *

It was nearing six o'clock when Jade sat in the middle of the living room floor and crossed her arms petulantly. Victoria, or as she told Jade she liked to be called, Tori, sat on the plush couch with the TV off and her gaze never leaving Jade's.

They sat in a stare off for nearly two minuets before Jade fell backwards onto her back and huffed up at the ceiling. Until then, she'd been undefeated. For the past half an hour, they had been going back and forth on the subject of Jade cleaning her room.

Before Mr. and Mrs. West had left that morning, they reminded Jade to clean her room before they got back. That was a task that had yet to be completed, and if it was up to Jade, it would stay that way.

"Alright, Jade. I'll make you a deal." Tori suggested as she leaned forward with a kind smile on her face. Jade tilted her head upward from the floor and looked at her for a moment before dropping her head back down.

"I don't make deals with strangers. Only the losers at school by the playground for candy deals." The eight year old grumbled toward the ceiling. Tori laughed lightly and shook her head at the kid.

"Alright, how about I tell you what it is, and you can decide if you wanna take me up on it or not?" Tori suggested without really expecting a response from the pale girl.

She didn't recieve one, so she said, "I'll make you apple pie if you clean your room."

Jade's ears perked up at that, and immediately she shot forward to look at Tori.

Quickly, she tried to school her expression into one of disinterest, but it was too late.

"I don't even like apple pie." The girl lied through her teeth but Tori knew from the child's mother that Jade _loved_ apple pie.

"Sure, sure. My offer expires soon. Take it or leave it." Tori chuckled and her smile turned into a full blown grin when Jade grudgingly agreed to go clean her room for that lovely apple pie.

Tori had the house smelling like apples and cinnamon within minuets while Jade rushed to put all of her toys, pencils, crayons, and paper away. She pushed her electric keyboard back against the wall where it belonged and tugged the sheets up on her bed while tucking the excess cover beneath the mattress.

She still had a few things left littered around the room and she didn't know what to do with them, so she ended up shoving them into her closet and beneath her bed.

Satisfied with her work, she ran into the kitchen and nearly collided with Tori's leg. She hadn't realized how long it had taken to get her room in order because sitting on a plate on the kitchen table was an entire apple pie made from scratch with her name on it.

With a bright smile, Jade slid into the seat nearest to the plate and nearly demanded a fork from Tori.

With a relaxed roll of her eyes, the half-Latina placed the utensil in the girl's waiting hand. Several bites in, Jade's hands flew to her neck and squeezed as if she was choking. Her azure eyes went wide and she fell to the side of the chair, landing on the floor. Tori rushed over in a panic and kneeled down beside her writhing body without a clue what to do.

"Jade? What's wrong, Jade!" The brunette demanded with alarms going off in her head. Tears had come to the small girl's eyes as she choked and thrashed on the kitchen floor, then all of a sudden she stopped and a wide grin spread over her face.

"Gotcha, stupid." She laughed heartily and rolled around on the floor with red staining her cheeks from the effort.

Tori stood indignantly and huffed as she paced around the room in an attempt to calm down and not blow up on the pale girl rolling around on the floor as if she had just heard the funniest joke of all time. She wasn't sure what to do with a situation like this one. Did she quit? Did she tell the parents? Or was she supposed to let it slide? Tori sighed to herself and took a glance back at the still giggling kid.

She decided to leave it alone.

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. West arrived late at night, when the stars were barely visible in the sky due to the city's lights. The house was silent since Tori had dozed off on the couch with Jade sitting next to her scribbling ideas down in a notebook. The kid looked peaceful enough with the calming quiet in the house, and she supposed that sleeping Tori wasn't all that bad.

The sharp click of Mrs. West's heels jolted Tori from her light sleep and she quickly sat up and ran a hand through her wavy hair. A tired smile found its way to her face when Jade's mother stepped into the living room.

"Hey Mrs. West!" Tori waved a little and scooted back on the couch.

"Please, dear. Call me Katherine. Mrs. West is my mother." The woman waved off the giggle that came from Tori at her comment and Jade finally looked up from her notebook.

"Mommy, where'd you guys go?" She asked with a little spark in her eyes. She found herself loving to hear about all the places her parents went when they met up with their friends. It was one of the most exciting things of the night when they'd get back. Her small legs swung over the edge of the couch and she ran up to her mother's legs to hook one arm around her waist in a hug.

"We went to the country club and relaxed with our friend Debbie and her brother Dave. Dave fell off of his horse and the poor thing ran away." A sigh left her parted lips and she shook her head.

"The little guy got in a nice kick to his shoulder before he made a break for it, though." Katherine laughed and played with Jade's hair. As she told the story, Mr. West had come into the living room after he hung up his coat, and he plopped down onto the couch beside Tori.

"How was little Jade for you, Tori?" He asked in his deep voice while he crossed an ankle over his leg.

Tori and Jade made eye contact across the room in the short silence that followed the question.

"No problem at all, Mr. West. She's a fun kid." Tori nodded and stood to grab her jacket from off of the coat rack in the corner.

"I should get home though; I need to study for my Trigonometry final." Tori smiled kind-heartedly and headed toward the door.

"You're in Trig?" Katherine asked curiously with a slight raise of her blonde eyebrows.

"Yeah. I skipped a level of math, so I'm taking the class with Juniors." Tori grinned proudly and proceeded to open the front door at the end of the hall.

Jade peeked around her mother's hips and gave a small wave when Tori called out a cheery goodbye from the front of the house, not that Tori could see, but to Jade it meant something.

It meant that for the first time in her short life, she didn't totally hate her babysitter.

* * *

**A/N: **This was an idea that came and refused to go away. My other stories will be updated at some point this week, but I've added another on the list. Review and let me know if you'd like me to continue?

**-C**


	2. Dress Up & Bath Time

**Part One**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Jade West was never really into boy bands or their cookie-cutter music. She hated mainstream media and therefore steered clear of the newest teen heartthrobs. Not that she herself was a teen, nope, she was only eight.

She didn't have crushes on famous athletes, or the main characters on the TV shows she enjoyed watching. The boys in her class were idiots as far as she was concerned, so that pretty much ruled out everyone. Or so she thought, because Jade ended up having her first crush. Except, it was on her babysitter: Tori Vega. Her parents were going out again for some party at yet another rich family's house.

They had told her on numerous occasions that she wasn't allowed to attend until she was older and could 'control that mouth of hers'. She didn't really understand what they meant, she only spoke the truth. Yeah, she hurt a lot of people's feelings, but to her that was just how life was. Anyway, since her parents were leaving for the night, that meant that Tori was babysitting.

It had been a month since that first day when she had the absolute best time torturing Tori. Pretending to choke to death on the floor was a new one and the fact that its effect turned out so well pretty much ensured that she'd try that one out again. She had been jumping on the bed until she heard her mother's sharp voice yelling for her to stop.

Her feet slammed on the floor with a loud thud that shook the lamp on her dresser from how hard she had jumped down. A quick glance at her alarm clock said that she had nearly fifteen minuets before Tori would be coming over from her house down the street. Sometimes she got there early, probably because Jade's house was such a short distance away, but sometimes Jade hoped it was because she couldn't wait to see her.

Shaking her head of those thoughts, she walked over to her dresser and yanked the top drawer open with a light tug. After what felt like hours, she pulled out her favorite shirt and the skirt that Tori said looked fantastic one day last week. Within moments, she was dressed and running toward the front door as soon as the doorbell rang. Her mother's voice yelled from the kitchen, "Jade, don't you dare open that door! Wait for me to get there!"

The whole yelling thing wasn't particularly new as of recently, but Jade couldn't but help but be annoyed at her mother. She hated being told what to do, yet as life works; she was only eight and had to be 'ruled' by someone. Her restless feet slowed to a halt at the front door and she lifted up the curtain that covered the windows on each side of the door. Her azure eyes met ones that constantly reminded her of chocolate and coffee.

A bright smile lit up Tori's excited face and she raised an eyebrow when Jade had yet to open the door.

With a sigh, Jade shrugged and opened the door anyway without finding it in herself to care that her mother would be pissed.

Tori walked inside and immediately scooped Jade into her arms and threw the small girl over her shoulder as she turned and locked the door behind herself.

"Hey, Jay! Where's your mommy, kid?" Tori asked with a little laugh as Jade began struggling playfully in the hold she was in. Soon enough, a small pinch was felt on her back and Tori jumped in surprise.

"How many times have I told you not to bite me, monster?" The half-Latina asked with a little laugh as she gently threw Jade onto the couch. The blue eyed girl bounced twice and broke into a fit of giggles.

"Katherine!?" Tori called toward the kitchen where she was almost positive Jade's mother would be.

"Tori? Who let you in?" Katherine called back and leaned her head out of the kitchen to look into the living room.

"Jade let me in, why?" Tori asked. She made her way back to the kitchen with Jade hot on her heels and gripping onto the back of her shirt.

"Damn it, Jade! You don't listen!" Mrs. West stepped around Tori and snatched Jade by the front of her shirt. The small girl gulped, she knew what was coming next and tensed for the slap waiting to happen. But it didn't come, and she opened her eyes to see that Tori had picked her up right before the hit could land. When Mrs. West seemed to have remembered that Tori wasn't family and she didn't usually see this side of the blonde woman, she regained control.

After the woman smoothed down the front of her dress, she brushed past Tori and walked down the hall where Jade's father met her at the front door.

"We'll be back pretty late, feel free to take Jade down to your house if you need to get something else done. Sorry for keeping you so late on a school night, you sure your parents don't mind?" Mr. West said in a rush while he fumbled with his blazer and straightened his tie in the mirror.

"No, it's cool Mr. West. Have a nice time!" Tori called out to them as they left the house then looked down at the bewildered child in her arms.

"Jay, did your mom tell you not to answer the door?" The brown eyed girl asked in a gentle tone. Jade nodded a little and looked anywhere but at Tori's face. For a long while there was nothing but silence.

"Next time she tells you to do something, just do it, okay? I know you may not want to, but it's better than getting in trouble all the time, got it?" Tori asked the eight year old with a positive smile.

Jade nodded reluctantly and wrapped her arms around Tori's neck to then hide her face in the space between the teen's neck and shoulder.

"_So_! I brought my camera so you can play dress up and I can get my friend to make you a whole photo album. How's that sound?" Tori suggested with a bright smile overshadowing the calmer one she had been sporting seconds ago. Jade grinned and nodded in approval, of course she wanted to dress up with Tori. That entailed getting told how beautiful she looked in the different outfits and if she was lucky, she could even get to do Tori's make up.

Any extra activities that were spent with Tori were a bonus to any day that she was babysitting. Tori eventually set her down on her feet so that the pale girl could lead her up to her green bedroom with pink accents. There were several framed photographs of Paris, New York, San Francisco, and Chicago lining her walls. The canopy bed was in the center of the room, up against the wall with the bed made and the pillows organized.

Jade walked straight over to her closet where all of her 'fun clothes' were located. Tori made herself comfortable on the edge of Jade's bed and crossed her legs as she waited for the eight year old to fish out all of the outfits she wanted to wear this time. Tori had taken a liking to Jade West, the little kid who lived down the street. Every morning since Tori had moved into the only vacant house on the block, she would see Jade running out to the car for school while her parents came out several minuets behind her.

The first couple of weeks were a bit rough, since Jade was acting like a bit of a hard-ass. Then all of a sudden, it stopped. The pale girl stopped tormenting and teasing her, and they started to have a good time. Jade came running from out of her closet and a frilly baby blue dress and black heels that she had obviously stolen from her mother's room earlier that day.

Tori giggled and covered her mouth to attempt to stifle her amusement at Jade's struggle to walk normally in the heels that were far too large for her. Once the blue eyed girl reached Tori, she did a wobbly spin and flashed a smile that nearly split her face in half.

"I got a new dress, Vic! Look!" Jade gushed and placed her hands on Tori's knees to keep her balance. Azure eyes sparkled up at the sixteen year old and she laughed happily, "It's amazing, Jay! You know what; you look just like Snow White." Tori mentioned with a thoughtful look in her chocolate colored eyes. Jade's eyebrows drew together in contemplation for a moment.

"That's good?" She asked after a while of looking off to the side in thought.

"That's _great_." Tori grinned and lifted Jade off of the floor to sit in her lap. The eight year old leaned her head on her shoulder and played with the music note necklace around Tori's neck.

"Vic, where's your camera?" Jade asked after a while and she leaned back a little to get a good view at Tori's smiling face.

"Oh! Here, let me go grab it." Victoria lifted Jade off of her lap and placed her down onto the bed before she turned and jogged out of the room to retrieve her camera. Soon she was back, and Jade was sitting down and looking off to the side of her room.

"Stay right… there." Tori murmured and zoomed in on Jade's face. The camera flashed and she took another picture from a different angle. After she was done, Jade blinked her eyes with fervor in an attempt to rid the red colors staining the inside of her eyelids.

"God, that's bright." Jade complained with a small frown as she flopped backward on her bed.

"What, are you already tired, Monster?"

Jade peeked up with a raise of her eyebrow and she nodded in defeat. The girl had stayed up all night in anticipation for that day; the day when Tori would come over and babysit her again. Apparently it didn't count that Tori babysitted her nearly every other day. She had sat up the previous night and wondered what she would wear, how she would wear her hair, if she should clean her room for Tori's arrival.

The list continued on and on. There was no way that she could have slept when such an important person in her life was expected to come over the next day. Jade sighed at herself and closed her eyes.

"C'mon, you know the drill. Your mom said she wanted you to have a bath every night, so go hang your dress up and I'll get the water started." Tori said and turned off her camera before she placed it on Jade's dresser. The taller girl walked out of the bedroom and made her way toward the bathroom. Moments later, Jade was in the tub and Tori was sitting in the hallway, texting on her phone, close by until Jade needed her.

"You alright in there, Jay?" Tori called toward the door as she tucked her phone in her pocket.

"Yeah, I'm ready for you to wash my hair!" Jade yelled back over the sounds of the splashing water. When Tori opened the door, there were several small puddles of water on the tiled floor and Jade was holding her breath under water. Seconds later, the girl splashed upward and whipped her hair out of her face with a giant smile spread over her lips.

"Jade! You know I'll have to clean this up, right?" Tori asked with her eyebrows nearly at her hairline in surprise. How did one small girl manage to get water all the way across the bathroom? Jade giggled a little and gave a sheepish grin, "Sorry Vic."

Tori just rolled her eyes and let a smile fall over her face, she could never stay angry with Jade. Tori knelt down by the tub while Jade turned her back to her in order for the half-Latina to wash her hair. Jade soon felt the drizzle of shampoo on her scalp and then felt Tori's gentle fingers scrubbing her head. She didn't use have sharp, hard nails like her mother did, nor did she use her nails at all.

She scrubbed and massaged the girl's scalp with the pads of her fingers, lathering the cinnamon scented shampoo into the kid's hair. Jade's eyes closed just in case the suds decided to slip down into her face, yet the other reason was mostly because the sensation of Tori's fingers in her hair was something amazing. Jade let loose a small yawn and got comfortable for the few minuets that the tan girl cleaned her hair.

"Hold your ears, Monster." Jade's hands immediately flew to her ears as Tori turned on the bath's faucet and dipped her head underneath to rinse the shampoo out. Jade hated getting water in her ears because sometimes it'd get stuck and it would take a while for it to make its way out of her head. Soon enough, she was right side up and a towel was wrapped around her head, including her face.

Jade struggled a little in the tub and then Tori had turned her around to look her in the eye when she moved the towel from covering the girl's eyes.

"There she is!" Tori laughed when Jade huffed in irritation and a dark blush stained the little girl's cheeks. The brunette stood from her kneeling position on the floor and allowed Jade to step out of the tub. Tori wrapped the towel around the girl's body and sent her off to her room to get dressed while she cleaned up the mess Jade had made in the bathroom.

It had taken a while for Jade to become comfortable with anyone, let alone Tori, seeing her body as she got out of the tub. She had eventually come to the conclusion that it was nothing to be shy about and they both had the same parts, so what was the problem? She couldn't find one, and since then, she had let Tori stay in the bathroom with her when she was getting out of the bathtub.

When Tori arrived in the girl's room, she was sitting on top of the sheets in her pajamas with damp hair. Jade's face lit up when Tori walked in and sat on the edge of the bed to tuck her in. Jade got comfortable beneath the covers and turned her head to look up at Tori.

"Do you babysit other people?" She asked out of the blue. Tori raised an eyebrow at the question, but eventually shook her head no.

"Nope. I'm only looking after you, Jay." Tori smiled a little and pushed Jade's hair out of her face.

"Good. I'd have to hurt someone if you were." Jade said with her eyes set in a hard glare that made Tori giggle. She knew for a fact that one day that same glare would send people running for safety, but right now, that glare was absolutely adorable.

"Would you miss me?" Tori smirked playfully while her phone buzzed in her back pocket. She ignored the text and continued to give her attention to Jade. Whenever she seemed preoccupied with anyone else while she was watching her, Jade would get upset and think that she wasn't listening to anything she said.

"No." Jade lied and crossed her arms on top of the sheets, but her blank expression soon melted into one of bashfulness.

"…Yeah." Jade admitted and flicked Tori's arm. The half-Latina let out a surprised noise at the attack and she narrowed her eyes at the blue eyed girl.

"Watch it, kid."

Jade just laughed and closed her eyes with a small smile on her face. Soon enough, she was asleep and Tori grabbed her camera, turned off the lights, and left the door opened just a crack before she quietly exited the room.

Finally, she checked the text message that she had received minuets ago.

'_Hey Tor, do you wanna sing with me at the football game tomorrow?'_

The text was from Andre, her best friend and usual singing partner. With a smile, Tori texted back an enthusiastic yes and made a mental note to ask if Jade wanted to go with her.

* * *

**A/N: **Wow, the feedback on that last chapter was amazing! Thank you guys so much, it really means a lot. Next day updates aren't at all typical of me, and think of it as a reward for your fantastic reviews. The more reviews left means quicker updates as you can see, so keep reviewing please :)

**Also:** Up next is the Hollywood Art's football game where Jade has a bit of a problem with meeting Tori's boyfriend, Stephen.


	3. Footballed

**Chapter 2**

* * *

The next morning, Tori called ahead and checked with Mr. West if it was alright for her to take Jade to the football game later that night. The school's football team, despite being a school of the arts, was very talented on the field. Of course Tori's group of friends weren't exactly athletically inclined, but they tended to make the halftime shows a force to be reckoned with.

She and Andre had practiced before school that morning and during lunch. Her friend Jocelyn, Joss for short, was coming to perform with them as well, with backup vocals. Joss and Andre had practiced already so she had missed out on the last minuet practice with him and Tori. Andre was a fashionable musician and a child prodigy who stuck by Tori constantly since she had transferred to Hollywood Arts from Sherwood.

They became fast friends out of their small 'It' group. They had attempted a relationship at some point but quickly ended it with no hard feelings in order to keep their friendship intact. By the time school had ended and her and Andre finished rehearsals, Tori drove straight to the West residence and picked up Jade who was waiting with a large grin and wearing her favorite outfit.

"Where are we goin', Vic?" Jade asked as she attempted to settle down in the back seat of Tori's car. When the little girl never received an answer, she huffed and tried again.

"Daddy wouldn't tell me where we were going, c'mon Tori, please?" The eight year old begged with pleading wide blue eyes. Her tiny hands clenched and unclenched on the edge of the seat in anxiety.

Tori eventually sighed and gave in as usual. The brunette glanced back at Jade in the rear view mirror and smiled a little.

"We're going to my high school's foot ball game." Tori admitted with a wide grin.

"Really?!" Jade yelped in excitement, yet she had no idea that she'd get to watch Tori perform at halftime.

"Yes, really. Now put on your seatbelt, Monster. We have to hurry up." Jade pulled the seatbelt strap over her small body and fidgeted for the rest of the ride to the high school.

The sun was shining bright onto the blacktop of Hollywood Arts and hit the bright colors on the outside of the school with a blinding light. The sun would set soon, but at that moment it was far ahead in the sky. Heat seemed to radiate from the ground as the pair made their way around the back of the school toward it's football field. Jade had a small skip in her step as she walked with her hand in Tori's toward the bleachers. H.A's football team ran laps and stretched before the game started, a few of them were running through last minuet plays.

"Tor! Over here!" Tori heard Andre yell in her direction and her head whipped to find where his voice was coming from. Jade's hand tightened around Tori's in nervousness. The eight year old couldn't stand meeting people, and she hardly could tolerate the people she already knew. Meeting more irritating members of the Earth's population only served to annoy her and ultimately make her nervous.

Since she was a toddler, other kids would tease her because of the different frequency she seemed to be on against the rest of the children. She knew that she was different, but that didn't mean that she was comfortable with it. Tori either didn't notice how tense Jade had become, or she chose to ignore it. The brown eyed girl pulled Jade toward her group of friends sitting high up in the bleachers and introduced her to everyone.

"Guys, this is-"

"Jade." Andre, Jocelyn, Robbie, and Beck answered for her. Robbie was a nerdy, scrawny teen with curly hair and a sweet, yet odd, personality. He walked around with his puppet, Rex, who he had gotten into Hollywood Arts with. The guy was a phenomenal ventriloquist, though the art sometimes disturbed others. He was without his puppet that day, much to the relief of everyone else. Beck was a tan, muscular, gorgeous guy. He had abs to die for and the whitest smile anyone had ever seen.

He was a guy of few words and little expression of his emotions, but everyone just assumed that it would be so simple to not look beneath the looks of the teen. He was a fantastic actor and a pretty nice singer at that. Tori's face scrunched in embarrassment that everyone knew who Jade was before they'd ever even met her. Maybe she _did_ talk about her too much, but she was like a little sister to the half-Latina.

She was proud of Jade and all of her odd quirks and her weird, sometimes cruel, sense of humor. She wanted to show her off much like a proud older sister wanted to show off her younger sibling.

Jade looked up at the mention of her name and her wide blue eyes immediately went to look at Tori. Her small hand tensed in Tori's and she shuffled her feet against the ground.

"Yeah… Anyway, this is the girl I've been babysitting for the past month." Tori nudged Jade forward to properly introduce herself, which she would swear up and down that she'd rather not do… that is, if she'd had the intention of speaking at all. They sort of just stood in an awkward silence that grew with each passing second. Jade's eyes were glued to the ground as she bit on her lip hard enough to nearly draw blood.

Eventually Jocelyn cleared her throat to save everyone of the quiet that had shrouded them, save for the we steady pounding of the football player's feet against the track around the football field.

"How long 'till this game starts, Tori?" She asked with the raising of her eyebrow. Jocelyn's dark purple hair matched the classy purple, black, and white outfit she wore.

Tori gave a hesitant smile and checked the watch on her wrist, "Yeah, have about a half hour left I think." She answered then promptly excused her and Jade to go find a seat in the quickly filling bleachers. Once they were seated, Tori turned to Jade.

"What was the matter back there, Jade?" The brunette asked, her eyebrows scrunched in worry. Jade crossed her arms in what seemed to be a pout before she began to kick her feet against the bleacher seat in front of her. Tori wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulder in a half hug and she looked down at her pouting face.

"Jay?"

Jade finally looked up into Tori's coffee brown eyes and sighed a little.

"Your friends won't like me, I don't know why you brought me here in the first place." Jade grumbled, her mood ruined.

Tori's face was immediately washed in sympathy and she began playing with Jade's light brown hair.

"Jade, they already love you!" Tori laughed in an attempt to lift Jade's spirits.

"I've told them so much about you and I told them how I couldn't have asked for a better little girl to babysit." The half-Latina admitted with a proud smile adorning her glossed lips. Jade's light blue eyes immediately found Tori's and the grin that appeared on her lips nearly split her slightly chubby face in half.

"Really?" She asked while her arms locked around Tori's neck in a bone crushing hug. Apparently, Tori hadn't known how strong Jade was, mainly because she didn't really give hugs that often, but it was a sweet moment that they made sure to keep close to their hearts later on in life.

* * *

The football game began without a hitch, and Hollywood Arts was up by five against the Gold Hawks from the next neighborhood over. Jade never really understood football, or any sport for that matter, but football really just never made sense. She had no idea what was going on for the first half but she knew that it meant Tori was buying her pizza from the concession stand and she knew that Tori was extra excited for her school to win this game.

Half time rolled around and Tori walked Jade over to sit with Beck and Robbie while she went to go do something. Jade attempted to ask Tori where she was going, but she never received a straight answer so eventually she stopped asking and let Tori go. Since the game had started, the sun had set and it was getting darker. The lights around the field dimmed and multicolored lights replaced the white lights there before it.

Tori, Andre, and Jocelyn stood in the center of the field while the football players sat off to the side. Jade didn't know exactly what the name of the song was, but she did get to hear Tori's voice for the first time. She was amazed by how the brown eyed girl sounded and for the first time, Jade seriously considered being a singer when she got older.

After half time was over and Jade told Tori how amazing her voice was and how she wanted to be like her when she got older, they were rudely, in Jade's opinion, interrupted. A tall, kind of tan boy with average build and a dorky smile had wrapped his arms around Tori's waist and kissed her neck. Jade's eyebrow dug down in something that felt like anger stirring in her stomach.

"Hey babe." The guy mumbled against Tori's neck, and caused the half-Latina to blush and grin while she turned around in his arms.

"Stephen! I didn't know you were coming to the game! I thought you had that dinner thing to go to with your parents." Tori smiled at him, completely turning her back on Jade who felt it mandatory to add her two cents.

"Wherever he was, he probably should've stayed there." She sneered with an adorable frown and the crossing of her arms.

Tori's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she turned and looked at Jade in shock.

"Oh my God, Jade!" Tori didn't quite know where her behavior came from, as Jade hadn't been speaking that harsh to, or around her.

"What? It's true." The blue eyed girl trained her hard glare on Stephen while said boy looked at her with something like disgust.

"Who's this?" he asked with a frown as he turned on Tori.

"This is the girl I've been babysitting this last month." Tori explained with a worried crease between her eyebrows.

"You're babysitting now? Since when?" Stephen asked as if he had just heard about that for the first time. Tori rolled her eyes in irritation, "I _told_ you, you never listen when I'm telling you something." She snapped at him.

Jade watched with a smug smile as they argued back and forth for several minuets.

Eventually, Stephen kneeled down in front of Jade and tried to use his boyish smile to charm the girl into liking him.

"Well, I'm Stephen. Tori's boyfriend." He introduced himself with a politeness that seemed false in Jade's eyes.

"Well, you sure are a boy." Jade noted with a calm stare right back at him. They locked gazes that bordered on angry for a moment before Tori intervened.

"Jade, that's not polite! Apologize to him!"

"What?! He _is_ a boy, and even Robbie seems more mature than he is." Jade declared. She may not have spoken much to the curly haired boy, or to anyone else really, but she was an extremely observant child. Stephen seemed like he was just slightly above the maturity level of the boys in her class.

Stephen hearing that from an eight year old girl of course ruffled him up a little bit.

"Look, _kid_. I don't know who told you that it was cool to talk to older people like that, but you better watch your mouth." Stephen glared at her; his manliness being questioned in front of his girlfriend was something he couldn't tolerate.

Tori was at a complete loss of words at the both of them, and for the first time, she understood exactly why Jade's parents never took her anywhere with them. The girl's words were harsh, especially for an eight year old. Jade's little fists balled up at her sides and she landed a harsh kick to his shin before she turned and ran in the opposite direction. She didn't particularly mind what Stephen said to her, even though it stung a little, but she ran because she saw the look of disappointment that Tori was looking at her with. She made it to the parking lot when she heard Tori yelling her name not that far behind.

As she was running, she turned to look over her shoulder and gauge how much faster she'd have to run for Tori to not be able to catch her. That proved to be a bad idea because she tripped over a dip in the pavement and scraped her knees and hands when she broke her fall. A panicked yell came from Tori as she finally reached the trembling little girl sitting on the ground with her hands covering her jean clad knees.

The half-Latina tried to pry Jade's fingers away from covering her scraped knees, but what was even more odd, as much as Jade was shaking, she didn't cry. The blue eyed girl stared straight ahead without seeming to be looking at anything in particular with her lip wedged between her teeth.

"Jay, please talk to me. Let me see your knees, Monster, come on." Tori pleaded with her and eventually Jade's hands went limp and the brunette was easily able to move her scraped hands from over her even worse knees. When Tori got the jeans rolled up enough to assess the damage, she had to take a deep breath at the blood that was building in each cut. Jade didn't feel anything over the fact that Tori would probably never look after her again.

They got Jade's knees cleaned and bandaged as well as her hands, then Tori offered to take the small girl out for Freezy Queen, the frozen yogurt shop around the corner from the West's house. The pale girl had begun talking again, but something was a little bit off that Tori couldn't quite put her finger on. She seemed happy enough eating her frozen yogurt, so Tori didn't push the subject. Jade brought up the halftime performance to talk about and mentioned that she wanted to be a singer when she got older.

Tori laughed, "Jay, you can be a singer now. I can coach you if you'd like." She grinned when Jade smiled at the offer. Both of them decided not to bring up Stephen for the sake of the good time they were having.

"What's it like in high school, Vic?" Jade asked questioningly.

"High school means drama, good times, crazy teachers, ridiculous assignments, and sometimes detention. If you're bad." Tori added on the last part as an afterthought that Jade giggled at.

"I can't wait for high school! It's gonna be the best." Jade mused with a thoughtful smile.

"Yeah, you say that now." Tori laughed while she tapped Jade's nose with her finger and made the blue eyed girl smile again. Tori would always love to see the kid smile, it was something that made her proud to be her babysitter.

* * *

**A/N: **Once again, you all are amazing for the reviews you left! As for people asking about how this age difference is going to affect their relationship, don't worry. There won't be any odd pedophilia type thing going on, but the story _will_ be Jori. That's all I can give out for the moment. You know the drill, the more reviews I get, the faster I update! So keep up the reviews, please :)

**Next Time:**Tori gets sick and it's Jade's turn to take care of her this time around.


	4. Chocolate Chips & Heart To Hearts

**Chapter 3**

* * *

A week later, Tori came down with the flu. Jade overheard her mother talking on the phone with the half-Latina's mother while she was eating breakfast. The eight year old had been anticipating that day for the past few days, since her and Tori were supposed to go downtown and shop for their Halloween costumes early.

Jade knew from experience that purchasing costumes the week or day before Halloween was a big mistake. Everything good was gone and all anyone was left with was an unoriginal, boring outfit.

She had been eating her waffles, pretty messily, when she picked up the news. Her for immediately clattered to the table as her eyebrows drew down in a cute frown.

Her mother whipped around at the noise and Jade could practically see the vein in her forehead at the syrup that she had gotten on the placemat. She shot a sheepish grin toward Mrs. West and attempted to scoot her chair back from the table.

Her being as small as she was, even for her age, prohibited her from moving very far. She had to talk to Tori though, so she slid from the front of the chair and crawled out from beneath the table. Blue eyes caught her mother's looking at her with a mix of confusion and irritation.

"What are you doing?" the blonde woman mouthed as Tori spoke to her over the phone. Jade huffed at the glare she was receiving and walked over to her parent. A gentle tugging was felt on the woman's dress pants, and when she looked down at her daughter with an agitated, "_What_?" Jade asked if she could go over Tori's house and keep her company for the day.

With a sigh, the woman agreed eventually and asked Tori if it was alright for her to drop Jade off at her house down the street. Of course, the brown eyed girl said yes and on their way to work, the Wests dropped off their child at Tori's house.

It was an off white house with a burgundy roof and a large front yard with shaped hedges along the wide walkway. There was a driveway that curved around into the garage which was connected to the house.

Large windows covered the front of the cozy looking house and the front door's thick, warped windows around it gave it a classy look. Jade walked up toward the front door with her bottom lip between her teeth.

Her parents barely waited until she was out of the car before they sped off. She had seen other kids' parent wait until their child was safely inside the house before they drove off, but hers seemed to forever be in a rush to get somewhere that wasn't with her.

Jade sniffed a little and rang the doorbell. Not long after, a woman with short brown hair and a kind smile opened the front door.

"Oh, hello!" she grinned and opened the door even wider when she saw who it was.

"You're Jade, right? I've heard so much about you. Come on in! Tori's upstairs."

The little girl nodded in greeting and made her way up the stairs without many words to Tori's mom. The woman smiled far too much for her. She nudged the door open with her small hand and peeked around the edge of the door.

"Vic?" Jade said quietly into the seemingly empty room. It's walls were lavender and the bed spread matched. A person sized lump stirred from beneath the sheets and Jade walked all the way in, closing the door behind her how she found it.

A small groan came from Tori, curled up beneath the covers in pain. Her throat was killing her and her head was pounding, she couldn't breathe and she had to get up every few minuets to cough up phlegm.

"Hey, Jay." The sick teen managed to say through the pain in her throat. Jade even could tell, Tori _sounded_ sick. The half-Latina hadn't looked up from the covers yet, and Jade walked around to the side of the bed that she assumed Tori was facing. She pulled the covers back and revealed a very ill-looking Tori. Brown eyes opened half way and looked at the girl in front of her while a tired smile pulled at her lips.

Jade's eyes went wide in sympathy and her eyebrows drew together. She was worried about Tori's health and since she knew nothing about what went on in side the body, with the way the brunette was looking at the moment she was pretty sure Tori was dying.

"You look bad." Jade blurted the first thing that came to her mind, though she didn't know how offensive her statement could have been taken were it anyone else she had said it to. Tori just smiled and shook her head before snuggling deeper into the covers.

"I know, Monster. Thanks." She attempted a laugh, but it hurt too much so she left it alone. Jade crawled up on the bed beside Tori and sat on the edge, when Tori began to complain that Jade would get sick as well, the eight year old simply said that she didn't care and laid her head on Tori's stomach. Tori had drifted between being asleep and awake for a frustrating fifteen minuets.

She kept waking up every other minuet because her nose was so stopped up that she couldn't breathe. Jade noted Tori's struggle but she wasn't sure what to do about it, so she stayed close and snuggled up to Tori's side. It was then that she realized how deeply she cared about her babysitter. Seeing Tori that way, sick and hurting, really took a toll on Jade's mood.

She was sad enough that Tori couldn't babysit that day, but it was even worse seeing her in pain. Tori eventually looked down at Jade and ran her fingers through the girl's hair. It meant a lot that Jade had come over just to keep her company while she was ill.

She truly cared about that little girl, and felt like she was the younger sister she had never gotten. Unfortunately, she had an older sister, one that barged through the door with the most obnoxious voice she could muster.

"_Tori!_ Get your lazy ass up and help me pick out an outf-"

She stopped in the middle of her sentence when she noticed the eight year old girl sitting on the bed.

"Who the hell is that?" Tori's sister, Trina, asked with a confused frown.

"Trina, would you please watch your language?" Tori croaked in irritation while she grabbed Jade's hand and used it to cover her exposed ear, the other one was buried against the pillow.

"Why are you yelling? Shut up, please." Jade said with a false smile thrown toward Trina's direction. She hadn't even known Tori had a sister, but man, she really wished she never had to find out. Tori could barely hear what was said, but she laughed through the pain in her throat, though it hurt her greatly.

Trina looked infuriated and turned around to leave with nothing but an indignant huff.

"Promise me you'll never curse, will you?" Tori asked Jade after she moved the kid's hand and turned to look down at her.

Jade nodded happily and her hair flopped about her face. Tori smiled and rolled her eyes at the girl's antics, but she was happy to have her there nonetheless. Trina would have physically dragged her into her room and made her choose an outfit.

The thing was, Trina always said that Tori's tastes were horrible, so she never understood why her older sister always needed her input.

"Jade, you didn't have to come take care of me, you know that, right?" Tori said after a while, her eyes were still closed as she forced herself to breathe through her mouth.

"You didn't want me to?" Jade asked with a small pout forming on her face. Her sad blue eyes met Tori's brown ones when they snapped open.

"No! Of course I want you to, you're my favorite little girl, but you could have went to hang out with one of your friends or something. It's Saturday for Pete's sake." Tori got out the majority of what she meant to say, but she had to stop for a moment because the pain in her throat was telling her to shut up. Jade's cheeks turned scarlet at Tori's praise and a face splitting grin appeared on her lips.

"I'm your favorite? Really, Vic?" Jade asked in excitement. Tori opened her eyes once more to look at the girl's happy face and she gave a weak chuckle.

"I promise you are." Tori responded and ruffled Jade's shoulder-length chestnut colored hair. Blue eyes scrunched closed at the action, but she giggled anyway and snuggled into Tori's side.

"I'd rather hang out with you any day." Jade mentioned after a moment of peaceful silence between the two.

It had grown darker outside and Jade's parents still weren't back. Her and Tori hadn't moved much since she got there, except Tori had to pull her garbage can from her bathroom to beside the bed so that she could spit out the mucus in her throat and throw away used tissues without having to get up.

Tori talked to Jade about things that she wouldn't dare tell her friends and for an eight year old, she was a great listener and offered solid advice. Jade was elated to be trusted with so much information about Tori's life and her feelings. She may have been young, but she understood more than most kids her age did.

"I don't know. I just try so hard to be the best and with that, there's little room for mistakes. Jay, never let people walk all over you when you get older, okay?" Tori cracked one eye open and looked down at the child leaning into her side. Jade nodded a little and stifled a yawn. She was getting a bit tired, but she had to stay up for Tori. She couldn't miss this kind of interaction.

Half an hour later, Jade stood without warning and made her way down stairs. Tori's mom was nowhere to be found, but she had done this before. The blue eyed girl rummaged through Tori's freezer and found a roll of cookie dough.

She climbed up on the counter in order to reach the stove top and pre-heated the electric oven. After she pulled out a sheet of foil and used a butter knife to cut several circles of the dough off and place them on the sheet, she stuck them in the oven. She heard Tori calling out to her from upstairs and she ran over to the base of the steps.

"Yeah?" she called back.

"What are you doing down there, Monster?" Tori yelled down from her room, much to the irritation of her throat.

"Nothing!" Jade responded and went to check on the cookies. When they were done baking, Jade waited for them to warm and placed them onto a plate to take up to Tori. When the pale girl entered the room with chocolate chip goodness, the half-Latina's mouth began to water.

"Jade, you made those by yourself?" Tori asked in awe. Her heart felt like it had swollen to three times its size. She couldn't put in words how grateful she was or how adorable it was that Jade had made her cookies to cheer her up. The smaller girl disappeared and came back minuets later with a glass of milk.

Tori could have asked for a baby sister when she was younger, but she knew now that she would much rather have Jade.

* * *

**A/N: **Again, thank every single one of you that reviewed, favorited, and alerted! Your support means the world to me, really. Sorry about the length, but I mapped out this entire fic, and this chapter was planned as a filler. Just like every other time, the more reviews I get means faster updates!

**Next Time: **There's a Halloween fair by the beach, and Stephen comes back to cause some problems between Tori and Jade.


	5. Not The Best, But Definitely Perfect

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Next month was a warm, beautiful October filled with preparations for the annual Halloween fair down by the beach. Tori and Jade bought their costumes a week after Tori has gotten sick. They were going to the fair as a dead little girl and her Raggedy Ann. Jade would be Tori's beat up looking Raggedy Ann and the blue eyed girl was elated to have her costume be an accessory to Tori's.

The past couple of weeks, they had spent their afternoons working to set up the fair. Andre and a few of his musician friends were performing the music throughout the entire night. Jade was spending so much of her free time with Tori that she didn't notice her parent's relationship slowly crumbling to pieces. She saw the first sign of it on a Friday, when she overheard them screaming at each other downstairs from her bedroom.

She wasn't completely sure, but it felt like they were arguing about her. All of a sudden she heard a crash and then it went silent. The next morning, her dad presented her mother with a bouquet of flowers during breakfast. It wasn't enough to make her worry quite yet, so she never mentioned it. The next time was the night before he fair, when she was walking down the street from Tori's house.

Her parents had stopped picking her up and dropping her off because apparently she was old enough to make the trip on her own. She saw her dad sitting a couple houses down in his car and making out with a woman that had auburn hair and a nice tan. She stopped in surprise for a couple of minuets, but it was enough for Mr. West to glance up from the passionate kiss and catch her eye.

Jade ran in the opposite direction toward her home and locked herself in the bathroom for the next hour. She sat in the dark and contemplated exactly what was going on. Later that night, her father stopped by her room and assured her that it wasn't happening anymore. In other words, there was no reason for her to mention what she saw to her mother. Jade felt conflicted, but she didn't cry.

Did she tell he mother and risk ruining her parent's relationship, or did she keep it to herself and let it eat her up inside. Damn it, she was only eight. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to tell Tori so that she'd have someone to talk to, but she promised her dad that she'd keep it to herself. With a sigh that sounded that sounded much too old for her age, she snuggled deeper into her sheets and attempted to go to sleep for the long day ahead of her.

Jade woke up bright and early to Tori's voice floating up to her room from downstairs. Her eyes snapped open and she nearly tripped on the carpet trying to zip down the stairway. Tori looked up at the noise and watched in amusement as Jade slid to a stop at the half-Latina's feet. A tinkling laugh came from the brunette's lips as she leaned down and picked Jade up to throw the eight year old over her shoulder and tickle her sides. The blue eyed girl let out a shrill scream that dissolved into uncontrollable giggles.

"Jay! You're awake! You know, you're usually dead to the world until at least noon." The tanned girl chuckled jokingly and sat the girl back down on the floor.  
"Yeah, but you're here, so I can't sleep!" Jade explained with her childlike logic. As long as Tori was around everything else came second. Jade caught sight of her father from the top of the stairs and she placed her bottom lip between her teeth again.

The night before came flooding back and she stepped closer to Tori and wrapped her thin arms around the teenager's thighs since she couldn't quite reach her waist at a comfortable angle. Sometimes she hated being so short, even though Tori assured her that she'd have her growth spurt later on in life. Jade wasn't so sure. Tori noticed her closing herself off and put her hand on Jade's head to play with the girl's hair.

"What's up, Monster?" Tori asked with a confused frown as she looked down at Jade. The smaller girl shook her head quickly and made herself yawn in an effort to slip away and go get dressed. She made it toward the bathroom and began to get herself ready. Out in the living room, Mr. West made his way down the stairs with a slow pace and a calm smile on his lips. Tori sensed that something was amiss but she couldn't put her finger on it so she let it be.

"You're taking Jade down to the fair to help set up?" Mr. West asked with a curious raise of his eyebrow as he tightened the tie to hold his robe up. Tori nodded and smiled,

"Yeah, there's a candy booth my friend is running and she needed help setting up, so I figured why not get there early? Y'know?" Jade's father just nodded slowly and looked at Tori in a way that made her nervous. The moment didn't last long, and soon enough both of Jade's parents retired to go back upstairs. Tori guessed that Jade had slipped past them all while they were talking, because all of the sudden, the girl was walking down the stairs fully dressed with her costume in a bag on her back to change into later on that night.

Tori grabbed the little pale girl's hand and ushered her out of the house and into her pretty yellow Porsche. The drive to the beach was short and filled with a calm, peaceful radio silence.

The majority of the three adjacent neighborhoods were present for the fair, as well as to set up. There was Hollywood Heights, Hollywood Hills, Hollywood Landing, and Hollywood Islands. Not surprisingly, Hollywood Islands were where most of the big shot- soon to be stars lived. It was right off of the beach and had an amazing view in whatever house you chose to stay in.

Tori wasn't surprised to see a bunch of people from Hollywood Arts and their families setting up different booths, as well as the people on the theater tech team setting up the lights and electronic attractions. There was constant movement and music already blasting from huge speakers. The fair didn't start until around four and it was only ten in the morning.

Jade looked around in awe and she grabbed onto Tori's hand in order to pull her to the vendors selling cotton candy for the early crowd. No doubt that they'd refill their stock to twice what it was when the actual fun began. Tori pulled her hand back and watched in amusement as the girl crashed into her side. Tori began to laugh but quickly stifled her giggles when Jade sent her a half-heated glare.

The haunted house that was set up across the lot already gave little Jade the chills, and they weren't even finished with it yet. Tori walked Jade over to the area where her friend said she would be with her candy booth. They could see the candy apples and classic Halloween treats from far away, but it was probably because the booth was not only neon colors, but the lights were ridiculously fantastic.

Little strobe beams emanated from random places around the booth and Tori noticed that you couldn't tell where they were coming from because they were built _inside_ of the setup. Her friend, Maya, turned around at their approaching and a thousand watt smile lit up her pale face. She had a piercing in her lip and several on her ears, with tattoos all up and down her arms and hands. Her hair was light brown with blonde highlights that glinted beautifully in the sunlight.

"Tori Vega, how nice of you to show up." She smiled with a sarcastic tone to her voice.

"Who's the little one?" Maya asked when her hazel eyes landed on Jade who watched the pierced teen in curiosity. Jade tightened her grip on Tori's hand and gave a hesitant smile to the teenager in front of her.

"Jade." She said quietly, barely above a whisper. She still wasn't keen on meeting new people, but this girl was different somehow.

Maya leaned over the counter section of the booth to get a better listen to what the eight year old said.

"What was that, sweetheart?" she asked with her slightly high voice as she chewed her gum and looked at Jade with a kind smile.

"I'm Jade." The blue eyed girl spoke up with more confidence than last time. When Tori asked Jade to not let people walk all over her, Jade promised herself that she'd also no longer let people scare her.

Maya grinned in greeting, showing off her perfectly straight white teeth, and stood up straight once more.

"Love the name, kid. I'm Maya." She continued smiling and then turned to look up at Tori, who was only a few inches taller than her.

"So, can you call Kim and ask her where the hell is she? I tried texting her like ten tim-"

Maya broke off in the middle of her sentence when she looked over Tori's shoulder and saw the teen in question.

She was a natural redhead with curly tresses and kind green eyes who made her way over to Maya with a skip in her step. When the green eyed girl reached the tattooed one, she placed a short, sweet kiss on her lips. Maya wrapped an arm around Kim's waist and smiled when they broke apart.

"That's great and all, but you didn't answer me when I called you." Maya raised an eyebrow and waited patiently for an explanation.

"Sorry, baby. My mom had me cleaning the house all morning; I didn't really have a chance to answer." She gave a sheepish grin and kissed the hazel eyed girl's cheek.

Jade watched the two of them in fascination. She'd never seen a girl kiss another girl before, and she wondered if that was something new or if she had just never witnessed such a thing.

"Anyway, Tori and Jade, can you two plug in those cords over there? I need all the lights to be on by the time it gets dark." Maya instructed with a serious light in her eyes, Tori could tell she was very determined to have her booth go off without a hitch.

The fair had just started and the fun had begun. There were people twirling fire and tiki lights, as well as carnival themed games and prizes to be won. The haunted house was the largest attraction, but Tori and Jade were saving that for last. Everything was perfect.

Tori won Jade a stuffed, black wolf with a single white dot in the center of it's back, and Jade had finally beaten Tori at the ring toss. But then Stephen showed up.

He wrapped his arms around Tori's waist and placed what seemed to be a disgustingly sloppy kiss on her cheek. Tori giggled and wiped off her face with good-humor, but Jade nearly gagged and spent none of her energy trying to hide the grossed-out expression on her pale face.

With Jade's newfound confidence, she marched up to Stephen and crossed her arms with the clearing of her throat.

He turned around and looked down at her small body, which was inside of a scary looking, bloody Raggedy Ann costume. Tori had one super high ponytail and a childlike dress with bloody handprints all over the front, like she tried to wipe blood off her fingers. They were cool costumes and both were glad that they found them.

"Oh, you brought the rugrat. Great." Stephen said to Tori with an unamused look on his face.

"I thought this was our night to hang out? Maybe go sit underneath the boardwalk for a moment." He added the last part with a smile that Jade guessed was supposed to look seductive. With a disgusted curl of her lips she shook her head and yanked on the bottom of his shirt for his attention. Stephen turned back to look down at her with an agitated look in his eyes.

He looked like if he had the opportunity to step on her, he would take it.

"It's me and Tori's night, not me, Tori, and asshole's night." Jade sneered with the use of the cuss word. Tori was shocked into momentary silence.

"Jade, what did I tell you about that?" She yelled and her voice hitched up an octave from her surprise. Jade shot an innocent smile toward Tori and apologized, but when she turned back to Stephen, her gaze was set in a glare that was starting to look a bit frightening with all of the fake blood on her costume.

"Kid's a freak." Stephen muttered to himself. Tori seemed to not have heard it over the music, but since Jade's attention was focused only on him, she picked up his words. She planned a way to get back at him, but started with letting him think that he won the argument.

They had all walked around for half an hour when Jade ran the short distance away from the bench Tori and Stephen were on to go to the bathroom. When she returned, they were making out in a way that sent sharp pangs of anger through Jade.

She marched over to Maya's candy stand that wasn't far away, and stole a cup of caramel off of the table toward the back of the booth.

She walked up behind the bench and stood on the tips of he toes to dump caramel over Stephen's head. A shocked yell came from his mouth as he stood and rounded on her. If Tori hadn't have stepped in front of her, she was pretty sure that Stephen would have no qualms about beating up an eight year old. Jade stepped back just to make sure, but she wasn't counting on Tori looking at her in anger.

Confusion washed over the blue eyed girl's face as Tori began to yell. Jade wasn't even sure what she was saying because she couldn't focus over the shock of Tori completely flying off the handle. For the first time ever, Tori witnessed Jade West cry. All that the little eight year old girl could picture later on that night, was Stephen's smug smile in the background.

Tori drove Jade home early, and they missed out on the haunted house. Jade didn't talk to or look at Tori once on the way there, she curled up in the back seat and stared out of the window for the entire ride. When they stopped in front of Jade's house, Tori got out of the car and walked over to Jade's side. When she opened the car door for the smaller girl, she tried to take her hand like she usually did when walking her up to her house.

That time, Jade yanked her hand away and walked up the walk way to her home. The lights were off, and Jade was pretty sure that her parents went out to a Halloween party of some sort, but they never locked the door when they were out so she walked right in. Tori came in behind her and waited in the living for a while as Jade went up to her room and changed into her pajamas.

Tori made up her mind and walked up the stairs to tuck the girl in, but it seemed that Jade had already accomplished that task. With a sigh, Tori sat down on the edge of the bed and played with Jade's light brown hair.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Monster. But to be fair, you were being really bad tonight. I'd appreciate it if you would treat my boyfriend with a little respect, kay?" Tori asked softly while tucking the girl's hair behind her ear.

Jade huffed, and it took a while, but eventually she turned around and looked up at Tori with an adorable frown on her face.

"Every time we go do something fun, he always shows up. It's not fair." Jade pouted and averted her gaze from Tori's.

The tanned girl nodded as she saw where Jade was coming from.

"Jay, if you didn't want to be interrupted, all you had to do way say so."

Jade thought about Tori's words for a moment before she nodded, and asked Tori to sing her to sleep.

It may not have been the best Halloween, but Jade's night ended perfectly.

* * *

**A/N: **Still loving the feedback that this story is getting! To anyone who thinks that this is moving pretty slowly, the real jump in the story is in about three chapters :)

I've been setting up a base for things that happen later on, so don't worry. As all of the other times, more reviews mean quick updates. This is the first time I have updated a story daily. It's actually pretty nice.

**Next Time: **Things cool down a little bit, and Tori & Jade bond with some much needed relaxation.


	6. Temper Tantrum

**Chapter 5**

* * *

The next week, Tori arrived at noon with the stuffed wolf that Jade had left in her car. Small feet padded down the stairs and toward the door when the eight year old heard her mother calling for her from the bottom of the stairway.

Jade wasn't keen on keeping secrets, and he one that her father had her holding for him was draining to say the least. She had been sleeping later and more often than before.

Every time a lull in the day came, she felt the urge to go to sleep and forget about all the things that bothered her in life. Jade's small hand rubbed her blue eyes as she blinked a couple of times and looked up upon reaching the bottom of the steps.

"Vic?" she mumbled sleepily with the hints of a small smile. The sixteen year old teenager grinned at Jade's rumpled appearance. If she was being honest with herself, she had never seen a cuter kid than Jade West. She walked past Mrs. West and kneeled down beside Jade to hand her the wolf that was nearly half of the smaller girl's size.

Her pale arms wrapped around the animal's neck in a hug that made Tori giggle and ruffle her hair a little bit.

"You left this in my car last week, Monster. I hope you didn't miss him too much." Tori said as she sat on the bottom step where Jade was standing and leant back against the railing. Jade's hair bounced as she nodded enthusiastically; apparently she was able to shake off the bit of sleep that had kept her sluggish.

"Yeah, I missed him! I thought we left him at the fair." Jade admitted as she ran her small fingers through the dog's amazingly soft fur.

"Nah, I grabbed him for you. Anyway, what are you naming him?" Tori inquired with a curious tilt of her eyebrow.

"Ace!" Jade shouted almost instantly, which brought a smile to Tori's lips but made Mrs. West exit the room as if their presence irritated her. Tori noticed her behavior, but chose not to say anything for fear of starting something she had no business being in.

"I like it. Ace fits him." Tori nodded and pulled Jade into her lap with the dog in her grip.

"Your parents are leaving in a few, any clue what they're up to today?" Tori asked curiously, but then Mr. West's voice floated from the top steps in a way that set Tori's back ramrod straight.

"Maybe you should come to us with any inquiries of our destinations, otherwise, do not drill my daughter for answers." The man's deep voice carried powerfully down the stairway. Tori looked up with a nervous gaze and attempted a polite smile.

"Mr. West, I swear it wasn't like that. I was just wondering where you and your wife were going today." The half-Latina responded with a pleasant look. Jade's little fists balled into her stuffed animal's fur as she attempted to hold back her anger.

No one talked to her Vic like that! She had begun to notice, every day they were getting colder and colder. She wasn't sure what was wrong, or how to fix it, so she stayed quiet and snuggled into Tori's embrace even further.

The tan girl's scent of vanilla and something that was the equivalent of sunshine, made her relax as she hugged the wolf closer to her body. She was able to tune out of the conversation until both of her parents left the house and Tori breathed a sigh of relief.

The brunette didn't bother to ask Jade what was up with her parents, because she was sure that not even _she_ knew the answer. Whatever the case was, it wasn't any of her business. She looked down at the blue eyed child on her lap.

"How was school this week, Monster?" Tori asked with a flash of her pretty white teeth in a smile. Jade's serene expression melted into one of anger as she lodged her bottom lip between her teeth.

"I hate school." She mumbled with a frown as she turned her head to hide her face into Tori's shoulder. The sixteen year old rubbed her back and made soothing noises in her ear.

"What's so bad about it?" Tori asked eventually.

"Kids make fun of me 'cause I don't like the same stuff they do." Jade said angrily into the crook of Tori's neck while the brown eyed girl ran her fingers through the child's hair.

"Same stuff like what?" Tori inquired.

"I don't listen to the same music or watch the same TV shows, I don't like the boy bands that they do and I haven't had my first kiss yet." Jade responded as if all of these things were horrible facts about herself.

Tori's eyebrows shot up at the last part but she slowly shook her head and cleared her throat.

"Jade, you're only eight. You shouldn't be kissing anyone." She felt the need to say, because she couldn't imagine Jade kissing some sticky little boy without cringing. She deserved so much better when she got older.

"As for those other things, not everyone likes the same stuff, y'know?" Tori began in a soothing tone that had Jade nodding her head to show that she understood.

"Here, my favorite food is pasta, and yours is what?" Tori knew the answer but she wanted Jade to fill in the blanks so that she could better comprehend.

"Pizza." Jade responded without really getting where that conversation was headed.

"Alright, is it a bad thing that our favorite foods are different?" Tori questioned further.

"No, everyone likes different… Oh, I get it!" Jade grinned when it clicked in her brain.

She got that everyone liked different things because everyone was different.

"So if someone else likes pasta as well, and you still like pizza, then that's just something that me and the other person has in common. It doesn't make us any better than you for liking something else." Tori finished and kissed the girl's forehead.

Jade blushed scarlet and Tori raised an eyebrow at her reaction but didn't say anything about it.

"Anything else wrong with your school, Jay?" Tori wondered after a short, comfortable silence.

"Sometimes I wanna stab people with scissors." Jade said the comment so casually, that Tori nearly missed the context of her words.

"Wait, what? Jade, that's not okay…" Tori trailed off in surprise. Jade sounded too serious for her to be relaxed about what she had said.

"How come? If they deserve it, then why not?" The eight year old asked seriously with a curious tilt of her head.

"Because violence solves absolutely nothing." Tori defended in a reasonable tone while she continued to run her fingers through the pale girl's hair soothingly.

"You never though about what it'd look like to watch their blood spill out all over the floor?" Jade asked with a tone as normal as if she were talking about the weather.

Tori blinked a few times. For the first time, she had gotten a slightly in-depth look at how violent Jade's thoughts could get, and everything that she did when she was angry didn't look half as bad as what she was describing right then.

"Jay… Please don't think like that anymore, kay? For me?" Tori had the sense that Jade would do just about anything for her, so she added that last part in for reassurance.

The blue eyed girl just shrugged and eventually nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Vic." Jade smiled adorably and Tori could barely imagine the words that she had said coming from such an innocent little face.

"Anyway, what's some good things going on at school?" Tori asked.

"Oh! We can submit a play to the principal and if he likes it then we can perform it at school." Jade grinned happily with her wide baby blue eyes.

"That's great, Monster! Do you have a play you're going to submit?" The half-Latina inquired with genuine interest.

"Yeah… but I don't think he'll like it." Jade mumbled and trailed off at the end of her sentence.

"You'll never know unless you try." Tori commented with that pretty smile of hers that made Jade smile right back at her and nod in agreement.

"Okay."

* * *

The next day, as Tori was sitting on the couch and watching a video that was trending on her school's website, The Slap, Jade stormed in from the front door. Her parents had dropped her off at the house and kept going because they had confirmation that Tori was already inside the house.

Tori looked up from her phone and saw Jade's fists visibly shaking at her sides.

The half-Latina sat up straighter on the couch and watched the pale girl with a worry line creasing between her eyebrows.

"Monster…?" Tori trailed off carefully, Jade looked like she'd explode at any moment. Her usually pale face was tinged with pink from the anger she was keeping at bay, but her control wouldn't last for long, and Tori didn't know how bad the blowout would be when she reached that point.

Eventually Jade reached the living room's coffee table and picked up a rock that was a part of the center table piece.

Tori was getting nervous at the controlled calm that overtook the small girl's body before she violently threw the medium sized rock across the house.

It hit the wall in the next room over, which was the den, and put a chip in the wall. Tori gasped at the sound of the impact. She knew that the last thing Jade needed was someone telling her to not throw things in the house, so instead she stood and cautiously picked up the slightly calmer girl.

"What happened, Monster?"

"Principal Northman said my play was too violent 'nd that he's gonna call mom and dad to see if I can get phsyc'logical help!" Jade yelled and shook in the tan arms that held her.

Tori's eyes widened in sympathy, Jade was very obviously hurt by the rejection of her play and the insult added to the injury. Tori held Jade close and sat back down on the couch with the smaller girl on her lap.

"Oh, Jay… I'm sorry. I'm sure your play was fantastic, and he's just not used to seeing a girl your age at the maturity level that you're at." Tori reasoned and rubbed her back in soothing circles.

After a few minuets of silence and Jade's breathing slowing down to a calmer pace, the blue eyed girl spoke up.

"Vic?"

"Yeah, Jay?" Tori responded gently.

"I love you." Jade said sleepily with her head lying on Tori's shoulder. A warm, fuzzy feeling bloomed in the pit of Tori's stomach at the words and a kind smile came to her face.

"I love you too, Jade."

Little did she know, Jade was truly in love with her.

* * *

A day later, Tori was outside of her house in the one hundred degree weather with a purple tank top and shorts that showed off her long tan legs. Her purple converse scraped against the concrete when she took a step back to assess the damage to her front door.

The hinges had been knocked off by some unknown force and her mother was blaming it on some 'bad friends' she had made at Hollywood Arts and now it was her responsibility to fix it.

With a sigh, Tori twirled the hammer in her hand and took a step forward to get to work, but then there was a little hand on her leg stopping her.

"Vic!" Jade looked up at Tori with a wide grin showing off her small teeth, as she had only lost a couple so far, and bounced on her feet.

"What'cha doing? Mom said I could come out and play w-" Jade stopped mid sentence when the front door of Tori's house caught her attention.

"Whoa, what happened to your door?" Jade asked with the raising of her eyebrow.

"I dunno to be honest. My mom has theories, but they're not too valid." Tori smiled and looked down at the smaller girl.

"Can I help you fix it?" Jade beamed up at her with her wide grin back in place.

"Sure. You can run inside and grab the tool box from the wall by the front door." Tori instructed her while she waved her hand in front of her own face to try and get some air blowing in her direction.

It was far too hot for her to be outside working on a broken door. Tori mentally whined to herself. Jade ran off inside the house and Tori got to work on fully removing the door before she fixed it.

Sweat was dripping down her forehead as she lifted the heavy piece of wood onto the ground and prayed that she didn't impale her hand with the splintered wood.

Jade returned soon, dragging the tool box out onto the front of the house.

It took a lot of effort with her smaller size, but she was pretty strong so it wasn't too complicated. Jade finally looked up when she got the box to a decent distance outside.

Tori had dropped the door and narrowly avoided having it hit her foot. She bent down to pick it back up and Jade quickly averted her eyes while her face heated up. She took a breath and looked around the street.

Everyone was inside that day, considering the temperature wasn't quite finished climbing. She had overheard her parents saying that the weather would probably hit one-hundred-ten degrees.

Jade looked back in Tori's direction and the half-Latina was then standing upright and looking back at her.

"You alright, Jay?" She called back while quirking her eyebrow. Blue eyes widened in surprise at the question and she nodded quickly while running over to Tori.

"Hold this hammer for me, will you?" Tori asked Jade as she handed the tool over to the eight year old.

Jade twisted the object around in her hands a little bit and felt like it was a pretty cool object. It had a wooden handle and a steel hammer head. She twirled it around in her fingers and giggled to herself. She wanted one of her own.

Tori came back and grabbed the hammer from Jade to finish nailing down a new hinge.

Once they put the door back up, Tori's mom brought them lemonade with heart shaped ice cubes that Jade thought was lame but Tori found adorable. They ended up playing in the lawn and chasing each other up and down the block.

Jade had caught a couple of her neighbors peeking out of their windows, and the children looking like they wanted to go out and join them, but apparently they didn't want their kids outside when it was so hot.

That seemed kind of silly to Jade, considering that they lived in Los Angeles where the weather was mainly hot, but she left it alone. She was actually pretty glad that other people didn't come out and join them.

That was her and Tori's play time and she wouldn't trade it for anything in the entire world.

* * *

**A/N: **Wow, 100 reviews already? You guys are so amazing, really. I appreciate every single review that I've received as well as the favorites and the alerts. Not only for the story, but for me too? Aw, you guys... This chapter was supposed to be just the first half, but it was far too short, so I mixed the one that was supposed to be uploaded today as well as the one for tomorrow into one chapter. Which means that there's one more chapter 'till part two of this fic. (Yes, that means the time jump) So as usual, keep reviewing for quick, daily updates!

**Next Time: **Bring your sibling to school day... or the kid you babysit. That's cool too.


	7. Freezy Queen Issues

**Chapter 6**

* * *

The next day, Jade found out the best news she had heard all week. Tori had gotten her script taken over to Hollywood Arts and she showed it to her acting teacher, Sikowitz, who told her that it was written at a much higher level than that of an eight year old child. He was thoroughly impressed with Jade's writing and offered to get it put on at the performing arts high school.

Tori accepted the offer since she already knew it was all that Jade wanted with her script. Of course when Tori came by later that day and announced the news, Jade was smiling so hard that her cheeks hurt.

She hurtled herself into Tori's arms which then lifted her into the air with her arms around the half-Latina's neck. Tori laughed at her enthusiasm and that warm feeling was back that she got whenever she helped someone out. It was different with Jade, because in the few months that she had known the eight year old, Tori had witnessed Jade growing up.

Not only physically, but she was becoming wiser as well. Tori was extremely proud of her little Monster and she was glad to say that she was there to witness that growth.

"Vic, who's gonna play the characters?" Jade asked curiously as she pulled back just enough to look at Tori's face.

"I'm not sure yet, but it's a school for the talented, so I'm sure my acting teacher will find the perfect people to play your characters." Tori reassured her. The brown eyed girl wouldn't let Jade be disappointed and she would personally see to it that the production went off without a hitch. Jade had previously made it clear that she had no interest in being in her own plays, but she wouldn't mind being in other people's productions.

"I want you to play Meredith." Jade spoke up once more with a hopeful gleam in her baby blue eyes at the thought. The mental image of her favorite person in the world playing the main character of her play was too great of an opportunity to pass up. Well, she didn't have to do much begging, considering that Tori was practically putty in her little hands. Tori would never dare to pass up on a chance to make Jade smile.

Before Tori left that night, she pulled Mrs. West to the side and asked if it was alright to take Jade to school with her the next day. Hollywood Arts had an annual 'Bring your younger sibling to school day' and since Tori had no younger siblings, she figured it wouldn't hurt to take Jade instead. Not to Tori's surprise, Mrs. West said yes, though the brunette had the feeling that it was just to get Jade off of her hands.

Tori still didn't quite know what to make of the eight year old's parents, considering that they had been changing more and more every day. Once she got the okay, Tori nodded, smiled, and wished Katherine a nice night before she turned and walked home.

When that next day, Tuesday, rolled around, Jade was sitting on her front steps when Tori pulled her yellow car up in front of the house. The smaller girl jumped up with a grin and she ran to Tori's car to then get in the back seat.

Happy pop music was playing at a reasonable level, and even though Jade didn't care for that music genre much, she enjoyed being with Tori, and that was more than enough. When the sleek car pulled into the school's lot, Tori cut the engine and stepped out to open the door for Jade. The pale girl stepped out and walked up to the front doors with Tori, who used the remote to lock the car doors behind her.

Jade was taken aback by the bright colors within the school. She had only been in there to get her scrapes looked at when she fell at the football game, but she hadn't actually looked around until then. The lockers were uniquely decorated with images that she could only guess described their owners. Tori walked straight to her locker, which wasn't that far from the front door.

The bell hadn't rang yet so not everyone was there, but she did see quite a few of the other students with their younger siblings. Jade stayed by Tori's side and looked around to take in the unique school dynamic. While the brown eyed teen was getting the books she needed from her locker, Jade noticed a couple practicing their dance routine in the middle of the hallway by the staircase that she guessed leaded to other classes. Everyone there had a different style that was far from the boring outfits people at her school wore.

Even the teachers were stylish; she saw one pushing a cart on their way to class who had a blonde and purple Mohawk with piercings all around his ears. The school was heaven for the eight year old and it was in that moment that she knew she'd attend Hollywood Arts when she was older. Tori had finished grabbing her things and noticed Jade looking at everything in awe, then those blue eyes fell on her locker.

"Your locker lights up!" Jade grinned and stood on the tips of her toes to look up and read the writing. "Make what shine, Vic?" She asked curiously. Tori flashed her thousand watt smile and laughed a little at the memory.

"It was the song I sang that got me into Hollywood Arts."

Jade was about to comment on something else, when Tori's usual group of friends walked up to them with their siblings if they had them. Beck brought his little brother, Ryan. He was nine and had brown and blonde spiky hair that was nearly as long as his older brother's. His hazel eyes landed on Jade and he smiled politely. She nodded back.

Maya had her little sister nearly attached to her side. She was seven and looked like an exact copy of her older sister minus the piercings, tattoos, and highlights. Andre had no younger siblings and Maya's girlfriend, Kim, had none. Robbie walked into school after all of them with a small three year old on his back with wild curly hair and a large grin. All of the kids looked at each other and took each other in for a couple of moments. Jade had attempted to avoid eye contact, yet she caught Maya's sister's gaze several times.

Her name was Caterina.

* * *

They went through the high school teen's schedules for their classes. Tori, Beck, and Maya had many of the same classes. Jade and Caterina had a sort of mutual understanding that neither of them were very good at social interaction, so they stayed silent together. Beck's little brother, Ryan, caught her eye several times. He flashed her his nice smile once or twice, but she just frowned and looked away. Once they made it to Sikowitz' class, Jade was finally able to meet the man who picked up her play.

"Attention, students! There is a very talented child among us today who wrote one of the best plays I have ever read. Miss Jade West, please come up." The semi bald man grinned and with a grand gesture, walked her up to the front of the class. Jade took a nervous breath and her hands fiddled with each other with nerves. Only when she caught Tori's smile aimed in her direction and Caterina looking at her in wonder, did she push a smile to her face and accept the praise that Sikowitz threw her way as he went into the plot of her script.

They had recruited several people for the main parts by the end of the class and for the first time, Jade felt like she belonged.

When lunch time came around, they all sat around a table out at the Asphalt Café, each child sitting with their sibling, or in Jade's case, babysitter. Jade wasn't hungry, but after seeing the nice food that they served at the school, she decided to try it anyway. Caterina sat beside her, and though they hadn't spoken more than ten words to each other, they had formed a bond that was fairly unique to what she had formed with the others. At some point, Maya mentioned that she and Caterina lived in Hollywood Hills, which was roughly fifteen minuets away from Hollywood Heights.

Maybe Jade had found a real friend for the first time ever, not including Tori of course, but the difference was that she wasn't in love with Caterina. Caterina was on the same frequency as Jade and that was alright by her.

After school, Tori took Jade to go and get frozen yogurt from Freezy Queen. They had invited the rest of the gang to join them, yet only Maya and Caterina could make it. Tori watched Jade and Caterina interact throughout the day and she was pleased to see that Jade had made a friend. The two of them staying silent at each other's sides had evolved to them sharing laughs at things that neither Tori nor Maya could ever figure out. They all sat in one booth, Jade next to Tori and across from Caterina who was sitting beside her sister.

Caterina's large brown eyes stared at Jade for long moments at a time as if she was trying to figure something out, which didn't bother Jade per se… but she was curious as to what exactly the seven year old was looking for. When those brown eyes moved to something else, that was when she noticed Beck and Ryan walking in. Apparently, they were able to make it after all.

Beck came by and greeted them all with that bright, perfect smile of his. Jade definitely didn't drool over him like she witnessed most of the girls that attended Hollywood Arts doing, but she hadn't thought anything of it.

If anything, Tori was far prettier than Beck was. Caterina shifted in her seat and her curly brown hair fell into her large eyes when she looked down at her lap. Ryan scooted into the seat beside Jade and made her slightly uncomfortable. She hated having her space invaded by most people she knew, let alone some kid she had just met a few hours ago.

Caterina's head lifted and she frowned at Ryan yet stayed silent for lack of anything to say. Jade scooted closer to Tori and wrapped both of her arms around Tori's right one in order to lean her head on the older girl's shoulder. Tori looked down at the pale girl and a smile ghosted her lips before she resumed her conversation with Maya and Beck.

"I'm Ryan." The tanned boy introduced himself formally and held his hand out for Jade to shake like Beck had taught him to do when introducing himself to someone politely.

Blue eyes stared at the hand being offered to her for a moment, but they then flicked back to the boy's hazel eyes. She didn't want to shake his hand. She didn't want him making any type of contact with her, so she ignored him and turned her head to face Caterina's curious gaze. When they made eye contact, the brown eyed girl gave a smile that showed a hint of white teeth behind her lips.

Jade's lips quirked up slightly in response and Ryan's eyebrows furrowed. No one had ever ignored him before.

"Your name's Jade, right?" He asked, trying again.

Jade sighed and let go of Tori's arm to turn her torso in his direction in order to face him.

"Leave me alone, please." She said calmly with a blank expression on her pale face.

Ryan looked confused and he laughed a little bit, clearly he thought she was joking.

"You're pretty." He said with that boyish grin of his, and Jade's blank expression turned into an angry glare that made him flinch back.

She shoved him hard and he fell backward off of the bench in the booth.

He hit the floor with a thud and a pained yelp that had all of the teenager's attention immediately. Beck's eyes widened and he walked around to the other side of the booth to help his brother up.

From what Caterina could tell, he had hit his head on the floor and that made her look at Jade with something like admiration. She could never bring herself to physically harm the people that she didn't like, she was far too afraid to try such a thing.

Maya's confused gaze fell on Jade and she raised an eyebrow at the younger girl.

"Did you just push him off the bench?" she asked in surprise.

Jade simply nodded. It wasn't as if she didn't think he deserved it.

Tori gave a tired sigh and rubbed her forehead before asking, "Why did you push him off the bench, Jade?"

"He called me pretty." Jade said as if the answer was obvious. She didn't like the compliment, so she reacted the only way that she knew how. She hurt him. Caterina's wide eyed gaze went from her sister to Jade, and she got up and went to go sit beside the pale girl instead.

Jade was her new hero.

* * *

Later that night, Tori had taken Jade home and the eight year old was fast asleep by the time she pulled up to the pale girl's house.

Her chest rose and fell softly as she slept, and Tori couldn't help but notice just how adorable Jade was. The half-Latina got out of the car and walked around to the back seat to unbuckle Jade and pick the girl up into her arms.

She closed her car door and locked it behind her before she walked up the winding walkway, which lead to the front door. From experience, she knew that the door was unlocked and she walked right in.

She got Jade changed into her pajamas since the kid slept like a rock and she couldn't wake her up. Once she got her changed for bed, Tori tucked the small girl in and kissed her forehead before sitting on the edge of the bed and watching her in thought. Tori sighed and shook her head with a small smile.

"You're a piece of work, Monster." She laughed a little and stood from her seat to walk down stairs and wait for the girl's parents to get home.

Re-runs of 90's Nickelodeon shows were playing downstairs in the living room while Tori was down there. Not even half an hour later, she heard screaming coming from upstairs and Tori could hear the sheer panic in Jade's voice.

Tori shot up from her spot on the couch and took the stairs two at a time. She ran down the hall and skidded upon reaching Jade's room. Tori jogged over to the bed and gathered the shaking girl in her arms.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Tori asked as she stroked the pale girl's hair. Wide blue eyes looked up at her and she relaxed almost immediately.

"Something tried to take me, Vic! They tried to drag me away!" The little girl sniffled and buried her face in Tori's shoulder.

Tori quieted her down and kissed the top of her head.

"No one is taking you anywhere, Monster. They'll have to go through me first." Tori said sincerely and rocked her side to side until her breathing slowed down. When Tori thought she was asleep, she tucked the girl back into bed.

Before she could leave though, Tori heard Jade's small voice floating up to her.

"Can you stay in here 'til mommy and dad come home?" She asked with pleading blue eyes.

Tori nodded and sat on top of the covers with her back against the headboard. Jade leaned her head against Tori's body and was asleep within minuets. Tori hadn't planned on falling asleep, but with the peacefulness that suddenly washed over the room; she was out just as quick.

Mr. and Mrs. West would return later that night to find them both curled around each other, and even with the growing tension between the two of them, they couldn't find the heart to wake them up, so they called and let Mrs. Vega know that her daughter had stayed over, and that she'd need clothes the next morning. Deep down, the West's knew that they hadn't been there for their daughter the way that they should have been, but if Tori was enough, and Jade was happy, they found no reason to spend more time with her now.

It was crappy logic, but they wouldn't learn until much later that it was also one of the worst ideas they could have had… unless something amazing came from it.

It was just one of those times. Did the ends justify the means?

They'd find out eventually.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter was being a bit difficult, but I updated as soon as I could :) Alright! Part one is done, the next chapter is part two. I'm glad all of you have been enjoying this story so far. It's been really fun to write! Thank you so much for all of your reviews and support, really, it means a lot. Keep reviewing like you have been for daily updates!

**Next Time: **Part Two. Tori's been gone for a while and it's affected Jade way more than she thought it would.


	8. Nostalgia

**Part Two**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Tori walked through the front door of her two bedroom apartment and was greeted by a smiling pale face and pretty light brown eyes. The features belonged to her roommate, Anthony. He was fairly short at 5'5 and had sandy brown hair that flopped into his eyes.

His bright smile radiated soothing warmth in Tori's body.

"_Tori Vega_, guess what?" he began dramatically with emphasis on her first and last name. Tori closed the front door and locked it behind her as she raised a neatly arched eyebrow at her best friend.

"Okay, but I'm almost positive that I'll always guess wrong when it comes to you." Tori joked, referencing the wide spectrum of odd things that tended to happen to her roommate on a regular basis. His light brown eyes rolled and he waved her off, turning to begin walking toward the living room. Tori followed behind with less enthusiasm, though she was fairly eager to find out what odd event occurred this time.

"Okay, so remember that guy I met downtown?" Anthony began with the hint of a smile forming on his full lips.  
Tori had begun college four years ago at NYU.

Going to school in New York was something that she had always dreamt of doing. She majored in English and minored in performing arts, then recently graduated at the top of her class.

After she graduated, she had moved into the apartment with her best friend since freshman year of college. The week before, they had gone out to eat downtown and Anthony had met a nice looking guy. He was tall, olive skinned, and muscular. Tori was almost positive that Anthony had a type, considering his last couple of boyfriends had looked pretty similar.

That being said, of course she knew who he was talking about. It was difficult to forget a guy that complimented her on her calf muscles of all things. A smile came to her face at the memory and she nodded at her waiting roommate.

"Yeah, I remember."  
Anthony took a deep breath for the suspense and let it all out in a rush.

"He asked me to go to the movies with him next weekend!" the short man squealed like a ten year old girl, but it was so adorable to see him that happy, that Tori couldn't find it in herself to ask him to cut it out. Tori shook her head as she placed her purse on the coffee table and sat down on the couch with her legs propped up on the arm rest.

"God, with the way you started, you'd think he had asked to marry you." Tori grinned at the blush that stained her best friend's cheeks and he sat down on the second couch in the room.

"What the fuck ever. You're killing my vibe." Anthony smirked playfully and leaned his head back onto the arm rest of the other couch as he lied across it.

"Anyway, when was the last time you went on a date? No, scratch that! What happened to that girl... what was her name? Alison! What happened to her?" Anthony asked as if the information was extremely crucial. Tori sighed and shrugged her shoulders once in a manner that would imply that she didn't care much for the relationship in the first place.

"I don't know. We fell off, I guess." The brunette responded nonchalantly. Anthony's eyes widened in shock at her blasé attitude toward her most recent relationship.

"You _guess_? Jesus, Tori, you're worse than Val." Val was short for Valerie, one of Tori and Anthony's close friends who also attended the same college as them. She was a gorgeous girl with enough money to be set for life, but she flew through men and women as often as people used their phones.

It was utter madness. It only got worse when Val began to even forget the names of the people that she was dating, not to mention the fact that she also forgot which one of the people she was with at some points. Tori scoffed and turned her head to look at Anthony with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey now, I'm not that bad!" Tori quickly defended herself against the semi-insult. She hit him with the nearby pillow when he shook his head in disagreement. They both busted out in a fit of laughter at their childish behavior. Idly, Tori realized that his laugh had the same pattern as Jade's had, which sobered her up almost immediately. She sighed with nostalgia and her fingers began to pick at each other.

Jade, the little girl she had babysitted up until she was eighteen and the girl was ten. That had been eight years ago, though the last day that Tori had seen her was all too fresh in her mind. She had been at the airport, and her mother as well as Jade's parents along with their daughter came to see her off. Jade hadn't let go of her hand once the entire ride there, Tori rode in the West's car, and the atmosphere was its usual light and happy self.

But as soon as the speakers had called her flight to board, Jade cried harder than Tori had ever seen in her life. The little blue eyed girl, still rather small for her age, held onto Tori for dear life while her parents had to physically pull her away. Tori had sent a watery smile back at her family, as well as the one that she had become so comfortable with those past three and a half years, and turned to walk the last few steps toward boarding her flight.

She stopped in her tracks and a tear slid down her cheek when Jade yelled out a heartbroken, "Vic! Please don't leave me!" Several gazes shook their heads in pity at the sight and Tori had to force herself to not turn around because she knew that if she did, she would not be getting on that plane.

So she let go of her suitcase to wipe the stray tears from her eyes, grabbed the handle once more, and kept going. Once she was on the plane and it had taken off, as it rolled down the Tarmac, she looked out of the window and let the tears freely flow down her cheeks."

"I'm sorry, Monster." she whispered, wiped her face once more, and truly began her journey to New York. Before she had left though, Jade made sure to slip her stuffed wolf, Ace, into Tori's bag so that she wouldn't forget her. That same wolf sat on Tori's bed and wasn't to be moved from that room unless there was a life or death situation. Anthony picked up on where her thoughts had gone, and his warm hand landed on her knee in a comforting gesture as he came to sit beside her.

"Tori, you should just go back to visit. I know she misses you. You haven't even gone to see your own mother or sister since you came to New York." he noted with a pitying smile that only made Tori feel worse.

"Her eighteenth birthday is coming up." The half-Latina said out of the blue. She really wanted to be there for that, but she wasn't sure if she would be welcome anymore. She and Jade had attempted to stay in touch while she was gone, but her avid college life made that nearly impossible.

They slowly stopped talking, and then Tori broke her phone and not only got a new one, but got a new phone number and wasn't in contact with Jade since. That was five years ago, and Tori was positive that she had made a huge mistake.

Later on that night, Tori called her mother for the first time in years. A confused voice answered on the other line and then it turned elated when Tori announced who she was. They caught up quickly, but then Tori needed to state the reason she was calling in the first place.

"Hey, mom. I was wondering-"

Mrs. Vega cut her off with an enthusiastic burst of words, "_Are you aware that Jade's eighteenth is coming up?" _

Tori let out a small laugh that didn't really reach her eyes when she did it. A sigh left her lips and she nodded, though her mother couldn't see the action over the phone.

"Yeah. That's actually what I was calling about. Do you think… do you know if she'd mind if I came by to visit? It's just that I know it's been a while and we lost touch but if she's not too upset then I'd love to fly out and celebrate her birthday with her if she'd let me and-" Tori began to ramble out of nervousness.

What did those long eight years do to the little ten year old that she had left behind? Would Jade hate her now? Tori shook her head at the thought. Looking back on it, if she hadn't known any better, Tori would have sworn the kid was in love with her.

"_Sweetie, calm down. I'm sure she'd love to see you. Maybe you can figure out what's gotten into her these past few years._" Mrs. Vega said the last part as an after thought but it definitely got Tori's attention.

"What's wrong with her?" She asked immediately.

She heard Mrs. Vega sigh over the phone as if preparing to tell a long story, though she didn't get into much detail.

"_I'm not really sure. Nothing's _wrong_ I suppose_… _her dad left a while ago and moved to God knows where. Her mother isn't around too much, but that's just from what I've seen. She has an odd obsession with black nowadays… You know what, I'm pretty sure she's Goth now. Here, I'll text you her number and you can call her for yourself." _Mrs. Vega said and got off of the phone with a haste that left Tori curious.

Once the text message came through, Tori called the number immediately and a much lower, feminine, yet husky voice answered the phone.

"_Who is this and what the hell do you want?" _Tori took a moment, not only because of the surprise she felt at there girl's – woman's words, but to prepare what to say.

"Jay?" Tori asked timidly and held her breath as the woman on the other line took in a deep breath in recognition.

"_Victoria_." Was all that was said on the other line and Tori scooted back to lean against her headboard and cross her legs Indian-style as her eyes flicked to the stuffed wolf occupying the second pillow.

"How have you been?" Tori couldn't think of anything better to say to begin conversation, but she soon regretted that question as soon as she had asked it.

"_Oh, just fantastic, thanks!"_ The sarcasm was layered on thick to the answer, and Tori supposed she deserved it. After all, if she would have stayed in touch like she said she would, then she would know the real answer to her question. Tori cleared her throat and tried again. No way was a seventeen year old girl going to make her act like a nervous twelve year old kid.

"Okay, I deserved that… I know your birthday is coming up-"

Tori was once again interrupted by a bitter laugh coming from the other end of the phone line.

"_Great._"

Tori huffed, as she was beginning to become angry at how Jade was talking to her.

"Damn it, Jade. I'm trying, okay? I'm flying out for your birthday whether you like it or not." That seemed to stop Jade in her tracks. The Goth hadn't expected her to visit for any occasion. That was fair to assume, considering that Tori had missed countless plays that she was in as well as directed.

She missed her graduate from eighth grade into freshman year at Hollywood Arts. She missed every single birthday and hadn't sent a card once, even when they were still in contact with each other.

After an uncomfortable silence for about two minuets, Jade spoke up again.

"_Do whatever the hell you want, Vic. Just don't fuck up my birthday, or I'll destroy you." _With that lovely goodbye, the phone line went dead and Tori stared at it in complete shock for so long that her leg began to fall asleep.

The nickname that ten year old Jade used to call her was nothing like that one. That one was void of the emotion behind the word. In fact, if there was any emotion at all, it would probably be anger.

What the hell happened to her Jade and why was she acting that way? Tori's only option was to go and see for herself. So that night, she bought a one way ticket to Los Angeles, and planned to pack her bags in the morning. She would be leaving in three days.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter is a bit shorter, I know. It's more of an introduction to Part Two than anything. You guys leave the best reviews, really. I'm not even sure why, but when I read it, spezria26's comment on the last chapter made me laugh. I really can't get enough of the support that you all are giving this story, especially my loyal reviewers. Remember, more reviews mean quick updates!

**Next Time:** Tori flies out to LA a week before Jade's birthday and man, did a lot change.


	9. Miss Me Not

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Caterina Valentine, nicknamed Cat for short, sat on Jade's bed with the pale girl's head in her lap. Jade's room had changed drastically over the years. She had ash gray walls with dead butterflies and dragonflies in frames hanging up, quotes from her favorite authors painted in beautiful, obsidian calligraphy, and a trophy case dedicated to her extensive scissor collection.

Her floors were a deep, cozy maroon carpeting and her dressers were a dark mahogany. Odd things floating in jars with the labels peeled off of them littered nearly every available surface in the room. A fake human skull, which she told everyone was real, sat on her night stand facing toward the bed side. Her canopy bed's curtains changed from the pretty cotton-candy-pink to a red so dark that from a distance, it would seem black.

Jade's head shifted to look up at the red-headed girl. Cat had recently traded her pretty brown hair in for a red-velvet color and while she was at it, learned the wonders of a flat iron. The red hair hung in loose curls that brushed Jade's face every time the brown eyed girl moved. A heavy sigh went through Jade's chest and Cat's eyes immediately were drawn to her friend-with-benefits.

Those brown eyes took in how much Jade had changed over the years. She dyed her hair black and got purple streaks added on the sides of the onyx tresses. The pale teen had gone through a phase at some point where she got piercings and tattoos just to piss off her parents. There was the eyebrow piercing and the nose piercing, not to mention the three on each ear.

Jade had a tattoo of a nautical star on the inside of her arm and the words 'Don't Give Up' right beneath her breasts. Well, that one only Cat had seen. Jade had finally reached her growth spurt around eighth grade when she got taller and her chest nearly tripled in size. She jumped from an A cup to a double D by the time she was on her way to high school.

She had an old fashioned typed body, an hourglass figure. The redhead leaned down at Jade's previous sigh and captured her lips in a sweet kiss meant to only calm her down. They weren't anything serious; in fact Cat had a boyfriend. Yet, Cat knew how hard the past years had been on Jade and if the only way for her to ease her through life was to give her affection in ways that she didn't trust anyone else to do, them Cat would do it.

She loved Jade with all of her heart, but neither of them was _in_ love with the other. The blue eyed teen pulled away first and sat up to wrap her arms around Cat's waist and pull her down to lay on the bed with her. Cat's tan skin looked pale in the dark room, and her wide brown eyes seemed all the more innocent.

"What's wrong, Jadey?" The brown eyed girl asked with her adorably high voice. Jade smiled a little at the pet name and pulled Cat closer to her body so that their noses were a breath away.

"I have to tell you something." Jade whispered in the suddenly loud silence washing over the room. Brown doe eyes blinked at her and a neatly trimmed eyebrow rose in curiosity.

"Okay." Cat said when Jade said nothing further. The smaller girl began to massage the small of Jade's back while she had her arms wrapped around said girl's body.  
Jade nuzzled her head to rest against the crook of her best friend's neck and she sighed once more, that time in pleasure.

"Victoria called."

The hands kneading her back paused briefly before they resumed their pattern up and down the tense, pale back. Cat chewed on the inside of her cheek in thought, considering that the news could be bad or good depending on how Jade was feeling about it.

Now it seemed like the bad kind of news, so she leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on Jade's neck to calm her down.

The redhead could feel Jade's heart pounding against her body. Cat shushed her gently and continued to massage her back.

"Well-"

Before Cat could get out any other words, Jade was speaking up again.

"She's flying in for my birthday."

That made Cat pull back to look at her best friend's face in worry, eyebrows scrunched together.

"How come now? She missed everything else." Cat pointed out, and she carried hard feelings for Tori because of the state she put Jade in and the emotional turmoil that she  
left Jade to deal with. If it wasn't for Cat, lord knows where Jade would be right then.

Jade placed her head back to rest in the crook of Cat's neck as she took a deep breath of her vanilla scented perfume and body wash.

"Just hold me, okay?" Jade displayed a rare act of vulnerability that no one else was allowed to see. Cat was always there for her, she was the constant in her life when Tori removed herself from that position. They became slightly more than friends around freshman year when her father left her and her mother for some woman in Chicago, which meant that she hadn't seen him in any form besides the checks he sent to her personally every month.

Her mom was probably depressed, which was just a guess, considering that she's never home enough for them to even have a conversation consisting of more than five words at a time.

Cat tightened her hold around Jade's still body and she placed a delicate kiss on her forehead with her baby soft lips. That was a side that only Jade got to see. Cat was a ditzy, hyperactive child around everyone else, but for Jade she calmed down and took care of her. Jade defiantly wouldn't trade Cat for the world.

* * *

Later that week Tori flew in several days before Jade's actual birthday. That wasn't what had Jade ready to start bloodshed though. The tipping point was when she walked into her house with Cat right behind her, both of them coming from the movie that they went to go see, and Tori was sitting on the living room couch watching TV like she used to when Jade was little.

The sight made her laughter cut off abruptly and Cat ran into her back when she suddenly stopped walking. Her lip found its way between her teeth, a habit that she'd had since she was little and she thought that she was over, but there she was, as nervous as ever. Tori looked up upon their arrival and a hesitant smile made its way to her lips, covered in a pretty dark pink lipstick.

Tori hadn't changed too much, except she looked older and more sophisticated. She grew into her body and damn was she beautiful. Jade's old feelings came rushing back ten-fold and she knew that if Tori were to ask for her forgiveness at that very moment, she'd run into those arms and never look back. But she didn't, so Jade immediately squashed down on those feelings because she knew that Tori wouldn't be there forever.

She would leave again and the cycle would start from the beginning, which Jade did _not _need. Especially right then.

The half-Latina stood and met the two teens half way, before she spoke.

"Jay… I see you finally had your growth spurt." Tori attempted to joke, but she was met with cold silence from Jade and a more wary silence from Cat. The redhead licked her lips and her brown eyes darted around the room in search for Jade's mom, but not surprisingly, the woman wasn't home.

Jade crossed her leather clad arms in a vain attempt to put a barrier between her and Tori in case her former babysitter decided to try for a hug. Jade bit the inside of her cheek and looked everywhere but at Tori as she kept the harsh words threatening to spill from her lips at bay.

"What are you doing here?" The Goth finally found the will to ask as her jaw tensed and her lips pressed into a straight line. Jade dropped her arms and Cat's hand found hers behind Jade's back, but Tori caught the action out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, I wasn't going to go anywhere before I came to see you first." Tori began, but a bitter smile curved Jade's lips upward into the type of smile that usually sent her classmates running for cover.

"Wow, guess I'm at the top of your ever-busy to do list again. Please tell me where was that attitude when your college roommate would pick up the phone and say that you were 'unavailable'?" Jade growled, and Cat used the grip on the pale girl's hand to keep her in the spot that she was in.

Tori knew that she wasn't talking about Anthony, she was talking about her roommate all through college, and her name was Kenzi. Tori's eyes flicked to the side in shame. She wasn't proud of blowing Jade off through the majority of both of their lives, but she was there now, wasn't that the point?

"Jay, listen-"

"No!" Jade cut her off sharply and shook Cat's hand from hers to advance on the tan girl in front of her.

"You don't get to call me that. You don't get to just _waltz_ back into my life like you never fucking left, Victoria!" Jade was yelling, and Tori realized just how badly she had hurt her. She also realized that the little glare she used to do when she was little was a killer gaze now. Tori's hands were shaking at her sides, so she shoved them into her front pockets and took a calming breath.

"Jadey." Cat called softly from behind the pale teen, and Jade turned around with a gaze like death itself. Yet, as usual, those icy blue eyes melted and softened when they landed on her best friend.

"What, Cat?" Jade asked tiredly with her hand rubbing her forehead against the upcoming migraine.

"Stop it." Cat said, and her voice was just as soft-spoken and adorably high as it had always been, but in that command, Jade automatically stepped down.

Tori looked between the both of them in confusion, but she wasn't sure what to make of their relationship.

"Jade, can I talk to you?" Tori asked, trying again to apologize for what she had apparently done.

Jade's hair flew with the motion of her whipping her head around to face Tori once again.

"We just did." She pressed with that hard glare returning.

Tori looked down at her hands before picking Jade's gaze back up and staring into those eyes.

"Alone." Tori hinted, and looked at Cat. The redhead took the hint and squeezed Jade's hand once before disappearing up the stairs. Once the steps faded to nothing, Jade made eye contact with Tori.

"Alright, talk."

Tori sat on the arm rest of the couch and sighed in preparation for what she was going to say.

"So, I'm thinking about moving back home." Tori's voice was hesitant, but she was almost positive that she would go through with the idea.

Jade's eyes narrowed in disbelief. How dare Tori just arrive in her house and say that she was probably coming back? How the hell was she so casual about the situation?

Jade's teeth grinded in fury, and Tori could see the fire nearly spewing out of her eyes. If looks could kill, she'd be a pile of ashes at Jade's feet.

"Listen, I know you're really pissed at me, but Jade… I care about you. So much." Tori added on that last part for emphasis before she continued.

"And I know that if you let me, I can make this up to you. If you don't forgive me, that's fine. I can't even begin to forgive myself for letting you down like I did. But, I'm not leaving you here again." Tori stated the last part with conviction and Jade wanted _so badly_ to believe her, but she wouldn't open herself up to that type of betrayal again. She refused to do that to herself.

"If you really wanted me to be happy, you wouldn't have come back." Jade said coldly, and it was a slap in the face to Tori, considering that this was coming from the girl that she used to tuck into bed at night and wash her hair when she took baths… How could Jade say that to her? Well, Jade used her acting skills that she picked up from Hollywood Arts and lied through her teeth.

She couldn't hate Tori no matter how hard she tried, but she was sure that if she let herself begin to think that Tori would become a constant in her life, that she wouldn't break her heart again… then she was just asking to be brutally disappointed in the end.

Jade hadn't figured it out until she was older, but that feeling when she was ten, of missing Tori, wasn't just missing her. Tori broke her heart the day that she left because Jade was convinced that she would get older and they would be together. It was a stupid fantasy, she knew that now, but it made perfect sense to her. When she was about five, her dad told her that whoever makes you happy all the time and that you love very much is who one should get married to.

It made all the sense in the world to Jade that she would grow up and marry Tori. Until reality stuck its big nose into her life and decided to just fuck everything up. Tori took a step forward with a pained expression on her pretty face and took Jade's hand in hers. Surprisingly, the Goth didn't pull away, but she didn't put a grip on Tori's hand either.

"If you want to talk, you know where to find me." Tori leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on Jade's cheek before she let go of the teen's hand and walked out of the front door without looking back.

Only when the door shut behind her, did Jade let a tear fall. Her eyes squeezed together and two more dropped from her cheeks onto the hardwood floor. She took a shuddering breath and didn't bother to wipe her face as she climbed the stairs.

It wasn't like Cat hadn't seen her cry over the same girl hundreds of times before.

* * *

**A/N: **Tori's back! Alright, so there might not be an update tomorrow because I'm going out of town, but I'll be using the ride there to plan out the next few chapters and write out a longer chapter for chapter 9. If you review enough, though... I might stay up ridiculously late to update. I should be sleeping right now, since I have to wake up at four, but since you all left so many wonderful reviews last chapter, I updated for you. Thanks again for the support, guys :)

**Next Time: **Jade takes Tori up on her offer and they really talk. Meanwhile, someone's got an obsession with Jade and it may or may not cause some issues...


	10. Sorry Just Might Cut It

**Chapter 9**

* * *

The only thing about Hollywood Arts that ever changed was the locker decorations and the students. By the time that Jade actually attended HA, she was pretty famous for the play that was declared legendary, which he wrote at the age of eight. Everyone knew who she was and worshipped the ground she walked on, even more so when she became the most terrifying student to walk the halls.

There was something about Jade that made everyone love her despite her hatred for everyone else. That being said, she wasn't surprised when Ryan stopped her at her locker with his charming smile and appraising gaze.

"Damn, Jade. You get sexier and sexier every time I see you." he smirked and Jade rolled her eyes with a light smile.

"Get out of my face, Oliver." Jade wasn't surprised that Beck's little brother went to the same school as her. He was older by a year, but they were in the same grade. They would be graduating, but that wasn't for another nine months, considering school had just started a couple of weeks ago. They had become close friends when they first arrived at Hollywood Arts, and they even attempted dating for a few months, but because of Jade's ridiculously possessive attitude, they decided to stay friends.

Little did Jade know, he was very much in love with her. Were she to find out, she wouldn't be surprised because she's had a crazy amount of people , guys and girls, declare their love for her very publicly. She turned them all down.

"That line never gets old, wouldn't you agree?" Ryan flashed his white smile and pushed his dirty-blonde hair back from his face. Blue eyes looked on in amusement as she shut her locker and continued to first period ten minuets before the bell rung. Ryan followed behind because they shared that class, but he also followed just to be close to her. There were several routes to each class throughout the school and many of them weren't found unless one had attended the school for a long time or unless they were just very adventurous.

Jade had found one in the janitors closet while she was running away from the vice principle. It apparently was not acceptable to smuggle tacos into detention and her as well as her friends all split up and dashed through the hall when they were spotted. Jade had found herself in the janitor's closet and she'd locked the door behind her. When she turned around, there was a rusty ladder that led back into the library where detention was located.

She and Cat had found another one in the girl's bathroom, fourth stall to the right. There was a mini door beside the toilet that led to stairs going down to the art room. They weren't in the same stall together, but Cat had discovered the odd passage way and pulled Jade right with her as she followed the steps down into the room that had a permanent smell of paint and pastels.

When Jade made it to her first period class, Ryan on her heels and undoubtedly staring at her ass, everyone looked up at her because Sikowitz had been speaking of her before she arrived.

"Ah, Jade. Glad you could join us." the sarcasm in his voice would be unrecognizable were you not familiar with him in such a way.

"I've heard news that Miss Vega is back, how is she? How I love to check up on previous students." his smile takes on a reminiscent quality. Jade's calm expression falls into one of irritation and anger. It was bad enough that she had to think about the fact the girl she was in love with lived down the street again at home, but now at school too? Jade's fists clenched at her sides and she stiffly walked to take her seat beside a random boy named Carter.

Carter's eyes were trained on her just as well as the rest of the class. Tori wasn't nearly as famous in Hollywood Arts as Jade was, but to anyone who was involved enough and knew all the school's secrets, Tori Vega was common knowledge. After a tense silence and no reply from the onyx haired teen, Sikowitz cleared his throat and untucked his shirt from his baggy pants before he stepped down from the slightly raised stage and began to energetically pace he classroom.

"Okay! Pick a partner and we'll continue from there and go!" he yelled out in one rush and Jade was frustrated because who she picked for her partner depended on what the activity was, but she didn't know, so she went with her best instinct and stood to sit with the little redhead that beamed up at her when she came over. Ryan was walking toward Jade but then she was taken by Cat.

He really hated Cat because with all of his feelings for Jade being rubbed into his face every time he was around them, he couldn't function properly. Ryan turned on his heel and walked in the opposite direction to find another partner. They did their acting exercises for the rest of class, but every time Jade looked up, she caught Ryan watching her.

* * *

Jade's beat up combat boots scraped against the ground as she walked because in moods like the one she was in, dragging her feet became a habit. Granted, it was one that she tried on numerous occasions to break, but it still happened nonetheless. The sun was still high in the sky, considering it was only about five in the afternoon. She had decided to take a walk after school and ended up killing two hours before she headed home.

Her house wasn't too far from Hollywood Arts, three miles at the most and Jade could walk that distance in her sleep. The rays of light irritated her pale blue eyes and she was grateful for not driving her car in that day, because surely the sun would have prevented her from driving in the first place. She shifted in her leather jacket, since it was beginning to stick to her skin.

She paused and placed her shoulder bag on the ground before she shrugged her jacket off and threw it over her arm. She then picked her bag back up and continued her walk. She thought about Ryan and his possessive attitude towards her. She felt that it was just a joke at first, but lately it had begun to get serious. He was furious every time that she got into a relationship, and despite Jade hating the majority of Earth's population, her popularity made sure that she was rarely single.

Yet, contrary to popular belief, she was definitely still a virgin. Once the scenery began to look familiar, Jade glanced up and her eyes landed right on the Vega's house, the same house that she spent so much time at as a kid. She could nearly envision her and Tori running around in the sprinklers during summer breaks or chasing each other up and down the block, out of breath from laughing and bent over, clutching their stomachs as they heaved for oxygen.

Those were the best years of her life. On a spur of the moment thought, Jade turned and walked up the winding walk way to Tori's home. The half-Latina's words from yesterday probably had something to do with it.

_You know where to find me._

Before she even registered what she was doing in her mind, her knuckles rapped several, quick times on the wooden door that she remembered vividly helping to fix. Before she was finished knocking, Tori opened the door with such a hopeful and happy look in her eyes that Jade faltered in the glare that she had planned to wear as soon as the youngest Vega answered the door.

"Jade! You came." Tori's bright, breathtaking smile left Jade speechless. Blue eyes traveled down to slightly thin, glossed lips.

"Well, you offered." It was the only thing Jade could think to say at that point. She missed that smile. Hell, she missed Tori.

"Come in, Jay." Tori offered softly as she took a step back and opened the door wider. The brunette's boots clicked on the hardwood floors with the heels as she took another step while Jade walked inside of the house. The door was promptly shut behind her and Tori was standing right in front of Jade, her pretty brown eyes never leaving lost looking blue ones. Jade never felt so young and vulnerable as she did at that moment.

Within seconds her arms were wrapped around Tori's thin waist in a hug that she had been aching for since eight years ago. The brown eyed woman was a little confused, considering the way that Jade had been treating her prior to their meeting, but after a second, her thin, tan arms snaked around Jade's neck and pulled the pale girl closer.

Long fingers stroked through onyx tresses just as they had when she was little, but that time, it sent longing shivers down her spine. Immediately, Jade reminded herself that Tori wasn't permanent. She wouldn't be there forever. So she pulled back and left several feet of space between them. After an uncomfortable silence, Jade apologized.

Tori's brown eyes snapped up and her trimmed eyebrows arch in confusion.

She couldn't find a valid reason for Jade to be apologizing, because if anything, _she_ should be the one begging for forgiveness. Tori shook her head at the words and soundlessly moved up stairs to her bedroom, with a silent look that told Jade to follow her.

They ended up sitting on Tori's bed in her old room, still decorated with a pretty lavender and white accents. Jade crossed her legs as she sat on Tori's bed. Her fishnet sleeved shirt was proving to be more revealing than she previously thought. She couldn't help but look at Tori in a more mature manner now that she was older. But out of frustration at both herself and Tori, she kept her eyes locked onto the floor and her hands in her lap. Tori sat down beside her and tilted Jade's head to look her in the eyes.

"You wanted to talk now?" Tori began with a gentle smile and a soft look in her eyes. Jade was finding it to be harder and harder to stay pissed at such a beautiful woman.

"Why did you ditch me?" That was the first question that left Jade's mouth, and Tori mentally berated herself for being surprised at a question like that one. Of course Jade would wonder why she blew her off. It was the reason they were in that situation in the first place. The brunette rubbed her hands together and placed them in-between her knees against the sudden chill that spread through her hands. Tori opened her mouth for a moment, but nothing came out and she closed it again. After several moments of silence, she tried again.

"Jay…" she began with the endearment that often made Jade soften toward her so many times before. Blue eyes met brown ones expectantly.

"I need you to understand, that college isn't meant for keeping up with people from… from home." Tori said with a sad smile as she reached out for the pale girl's hand. Jade moved her hand away, still not ready to forgive Tori just yet. She knew that Tori had her reasons, but at that point she was just deliberately being stubborn. Tori began to sense that change within the onyx haired girl and she brushed her hair back behind her ear when she moved that same hand away from the Goth.

"Say something. It's not a conversation if you just glare at me the entire time." Tori gave a half smile and a knowing look at the younger girl.

"Are you staying or not?" Jade grumbled as she stared down at her hands lying limp in her lap. She couldn't help but wonder what Tori thought of how much she'd changed. Her gothic appearance couldn't have been what the half-Latina expected to see once she came back.

"Jade, I'll be here as long as you want me here." Tori said sincerely, though it only made Jade angry.

"Don't put this on me! If you want to go, then fine. Just let me know in advance so I won't fuck up and get attached again." She said sharply with an accusing look in her icy blue eyes.

"You know that if you stay, it's not for me. I'm just some kid you used to babysit way back when." Jade bit out as she abruptly stood from the bed, only for Tori to grab her arm and yank her back down with a sigh.

"Now you're just being difficult, Monster…" Tori trailed off when she realized what she had just called the pale girl.

Jade's eyes looked up at the old nickname and it sent a wave of nostalgia through her body. She realized how tired she was of being mad at Tori, when in reality she should just immerse herself in the time that the half-Latina _was_ there. Make the most out of it while it lasted.

Jade's bottom lip found itself between her teeth as she thought it out, though her gaze never left the chocolate one across from her. Tori reached forward once more and laced her fingers through Jade's hand, and that time, the blue eyed girl let her.

"Fine. But you better get me a present that makes up for all my other birthdays, Vic." Jade whispered hesitantly, though the usual snark in her comment was very faint in her words. With a cute laugh and a blinding smile, Tori leaned forward and hugged Jade hard enough that her back cracked in response. Jade missed that. They both did.

When Jade arrived at home, her mother's car was in the driveway. Typically, that would be a very 'whatever' situation, but today, the feeling in the house was off. Katherine greeted Jade at the door with a sarcastic smile and a bottle of vodka in her hand, lazily being thrown about as she gestured down the street.

"Where the hell were you? And what the hell are you wearing, you look like a slut." Her upper lip curled in disgust and Jade frowned in surprise. Her mother had never talked to her that way, even before she started disappearing for days at a time. If the divorce was just then taking it's toll on the older woman, then it was a few years late. Jade attempted to move past the obviously drunk woman and go up to her room, but a pale arm was blocking her path.

"No, who were you with? Was it that boy? Ronald?" The blonde questioned obnoxiously.

Jade's eyes squinted in confusion. She never dated, or messed with a guy named Ronald. Did she even know a Ronald?

"You mean Ryan?" The pale girl asked hesitantly.

"Watch your _fucking _tone!" The blonde yelled harshly and Jade sighed in irritation. She didn't have time to deal with her drunken mother like this, especially if she was going to talk to her any kind of way. Sure, she wouldn't mind helping or talking about her problems, but if she decided that she wanted to drown her sorrows, then Jade figured that she'd let her. Katherine was a grown woman; she didn't need her daughter breathing down her throat.

Jade eventually side stepped the belligerent adult and took the stairs two at a time before she slammed her door shut and locked it behind her. She didn't think she'd ever feel that way, but she liked it so much better when her mom didn't come home.

Cat called a few minuets later, and Jade answered the phone with her default monotone voice. The redhead could tell that something was bothering the pale thespian, so she told her odd stories about her family to cheer her up. Her older sister, Maya, was coming in for a week. Unlike Tori, Maya visited almost regularly. She had a steady job as a psychologist in Chicago, so it wasn't too difficult for her to get a plane ticket almost monthly in order to visit her family in Los Angeles.

Jade smiled a little, since Maya had been the older sister she never had over those long years of Tori being away.

"I'm thinking about majoring in psychology." Jade mused thoughtfully and Cat giggled on the other end.

"You should tell her that when she gets here! I think she'll love talking about it with someone who actually can follow along with what the hell she's saying." Jade rolled her eyes at Cat's high pitched voice on the other end of the call and she thought that maybe just for now, things wouldn't be too bad. The woman she fell in love with was back, her best friend wasn't going anywhere, she was successful and at the top of her class. Her parents were another story, and it was one that she wasn't interested in reading.

Everything else was going fine, and not to mention, she'd be eighteen in a few days.

The thought made her smile.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm so sorry for the delay in updates. Picture everything that could possibly go wrong... it did. Anyway, updates will be daily once more as long as you guys keep reviewing. And I see that this reached 200 reviews! Thank you guys so much, I'm really shocked at how much you love this story. You can check my profile for this info, but follow me on twitter mahaloimsnix . It's a fan account for the beautiful Liz Gillies and Naya Rivera, but any questions about a fic you can reach me on there. :)

**Next Time: **Parties plus Truth or Dare... what could possibly go wrong?


	11. Party's Heating Up

**Chapter 10**

* * *

A peppy redhead arrived hours early to the party with three obnoxiously large helium balloons, a bouquet of flowers, and a mini cake. A bright smile illuminated her baby-like face and her deep dimples seemed permanent from how hard the short girl was smiling. Cat was dressed in a pale blue floral dress with matching baby blue heels and when asked about the color, since Cat was more a fan of pink, she said that it was to match Jade's eyes.

Once Cat put the small cake in the kitchen and placed the balloons and flowers in Jade's bedroom, the Goth placed her finger beneath Cat's chin and tilted her head up to place a sound kiss on her glossed lips in appreciation. The redhead giggled and leaned up once more to kiss Jade's cheek before she sat on the pale girl's bed and bounced a little from the force.

"So, I talked to Tori yesterday." Jade began as she sat down against her headboard before she pulled Cat against her side.

"Oh, yay! How'd it go?" Her high pitched voice floated from beside the Goth.

"We're good now." Jade started, and then proceeded to tell Cat everything that happened when he went to go visit the youngest Vega.  
Cat's face was stoic by the time that Jade finished and eventually the blue eyed girl noticed and asked what was wrong.  
"Nowhere in there did you say she apologized.

Jade, she was gone for eight years! Five of which she was completely MIA. How do you just let her off the hook that easily?"  
Jade blinked at the redhead in shock, because Cat was rarely ever got angry.  
Thinking back on it, Jade did begin to think that maybe she had been too lenient with the half-Latina, but she wasn't surprised. It was so easy to forgive someone you were in love with, and Jade loved Tori more than most things. After several tense seconds in silence, Jade finally let the words sink in.

"You think she was just saying that stuff?" Jade asked with a vulnerability that was only for Cat to see.  
The redhead rolled her eyes in irritation.

"She didn't say anything beside a bunch of bullshit!"  
Jade's eyebrows rose at the smaller girl's language, but Cat was right. Tori spouted off a pretty story, but in the end nothing was truly solved. It was the kind of double talk she used on relationships she had no interest in, but wanted to keep the person wrapped around her finger. Would Tori do that to her? God, she really hoped not.

At around seven, people began to file in. Jade wasn't surprised that it had turned into the type of party where you invite fifteen people and nearly fifty show up. Her years of popularity prepared her for those types of situations, so she gathered up the people that she actually knew and moved the real party down into the basement while the other teenagers partied upstairs.

The music vibrated in her chest with the bass down as low as it could get, soon after the liquor was out, everyone started to get a bit handsy and Jade, Cat, and a guy named Derek whom Jade thought was pretty cool, were grinding against each other to the music. When blue eyes finally opened to scan the room, she saw Tori walking down the stairs in a semi formal dress and heels that probably cost as much as the diamond necklace Jade had around her neck. She watched with a smirk as those brown eyes took in the surprising scene before her.

Jade could only imagine what Tori thought of seeing a room full of horny teenagers and bottles of expensive wine out on nearly every surface. Once Tori's gaze found hers, Jade sent a taunting smirk just as Cat began to kiss on her neck. The Goth was sandwiched between Derek and the redhead, neither of which noticed that they had an audience. Soon enough, she heard someone to her right ask their friend,

"Bro, is that Tori Vega?" Jade rolled her eyes at the stupid question because anyone who knew her name at Hollywood Arts would also know what she looked like. Soon, she broke away from the two way embrace and walked- no, strutted- toward the half-Latina with her signature smirk gracing her lips.

"Look who showed up. You're a little late, aren't you tiger?" Jade taunted teasingly as she leaned against the railing of the stairs Tori was still standing on. Brown eyes blinked at her in confusion. Tori didn't know whether she should be alarmed about the fact that the majority of the teens down in the house were drunk, or the fact that Jade looked like she was a few shots away from having a threesome right there against the wall.

Either way, she was in shock.

"Jay… I thought you were having a birthday party?" Tori asked hesitantly.

"Oh, Vic. I'm not five, come on and have some fun. You sound surprised, which is making me wonder what kind of parties _you're_ used to." Jade's husky voice eventually lured Tori down the final steps to stand in front of the tipsy birthday girl. It took a lot for Jade to get drunk, considering how well she held her liquor.

The pale woman didn't forget about what Cat had said earlier, and she was just ready to show Tori that she could fight fire with fire. If the half-Latina wanted to use Jade's emotions to her advantage, the Jade would do the same. The sad part was that Jade did this kind of thing as a hobby, and Tori would in no way make it out of this without some sort of scar, be it good or bad. A pale hand reached out and pulled the tan woman flush against her body. A chuckle rumbled through Jade's chest at Tori's confused expression.

"Relax, baby. Dance with me." Jade whispered in Tori's ear as she pulled her a little bit away from the rest of the group that was in the basement and toward the back. The music was just as loud and hypnotic, but then they were alone. Tori shook her head and attempted to step back.

"Jade, I can't do this-"

"Do what?" Jade interrupted with that playful smirk making its way back to her pink lips. Tori swallowed and her eyes drifted down to look at those lips, or the smirk, but either had her blushing.

"You're a kid…" Tori tried to say, but realized that it was no longer the truth. Jade was eighteen, a legal adult. She could do whatever she wanted with her and no one would bat an eyelash.

The half-Latina was running out of reasons to say no to Jade's persistent advances, so eventually she gave in and let the pale woman wrap her arms around her waist and place sloppy kisses and nips on her neck. Tori was finding it harder and harder to concentrate, so she stopped trying and let it be. Jade pulled away from the tan woman's neck and kissed her jaw, slowly building up to the corner of her mouth. Right before she could place the final kiss on her lips, Ryan burst through the back, looking for Jade. He stopped in his tracks when he realized what was going on and his nostrils flared.

"Oh, great! First I'm competing with Cat, and now Tori _Vega_!" He ranted dramatically as he threw his hands up in frustration. Jade wasn't phased in the slightest and she casually stepped away from Tori's embrace and tilted her head at him calmly.

"What competition, Ryan? We broke up." Jade reminded him as if she were speaking to a toddler, but Ryan wasn't having it.

"I still love you, Jade! Don't you get it!" The Vodka was definitely talking him into spilling his emotions out all over the floor and Jade simply rolled her eyes in disgust at the whiny mess he was being at that moment.

Jade dragged Tori out to the main room of the basement where she gathered everyone around to play truth or dare with an app on her PearPhone. They decided to do five players at a time as not to spend a ridiculous amount of time on the game, so Cat, Jade, Tori, Ryan, and Derek went first.

Once the names were entered into the app, it was decided that Cat was going first. She picked dare.

_Describe your most unexpected sexual encounter_.

With a giggle, her brown eyes met Jade's and the Goth nodded for her to continue.

"Jade snuck up on me in the girl's bathroom at school and we made out." She grinned and brushed her hair out of her face. The app said that it was Jade's turn.

_Remove and article of clothing off Derek using only your teeth._

Jade's throaty chuckle rumbled in her chest as she crawled forward and bit the collar of Derek's t-shirt before he pulled his arms up to allow her to pull it up over his head. Next was Ryan, who had to rate Derek's attractiveness from 1-10. His face heated up as he inwardly thought that it would be gay to say that another dude was attractive at all, but he took one look at Jade's taunting expression and bit out a bitter 6.

Jade then had to pretend to be a Playboy model while Ryan was the photographer. Grinning, the pale woman stood and struck a pose that was provocative enough to make everyone in the immediate area turn and watch her. As she slowly removed her shirt while Ryan pretended to take pictures, Tori shifted on her spot on the couch they were sitting on. Cat tilted her head to the side and watched the show with her lip between her teeth, but when she caught Tori staring harder than she was, she knew that they needed to put whatever happened behind them already. Tori just needed to apologize. The two took their seats again, and it was Cat's turn.

At some point, they decided to ditch the truths altogether and only do dares. Tori was made to bite Jade's ass, which seemed so ironic to Cat that she burst into a fit of drunken giggles.

Tori blushed profusely and decided that if she wanted to enjoy this game, she needed to at least have a buzz. She took a shot of Vodka and leaned across the couch where Jade was on all fours, waiting for the bite. Tori sunk her teeth into Jade's firm ass and immediately took her seat again as well as another shot. Cat was told to make out with Derek for thirty seconds, which she did.

The redhead leaned over and immediately they were kissing so roughly that Tori was surprised that neither of them drew blood. When the thirty seconds were up, Jade pulled Cat away from Derek, since it didn't look like they'd be stopping anytime soon. Tori had to kiss Ryan, but because she didn't feel comfortable with it, Ryan said that he would just transfer his part in it to someone else.

He immediately said Jade's name. The Goth's eyes snapped to Tori's with a tantalizing smirk on her lips as she stood and straddled Tori's lap. Their lips brushed together several times teasingly, before Jade actually bit Tori's bottom lip and pulled back. Her tongue slid between Tori's lips when the half-Latina gasped at the contact. Their tongues pushed against each other for dominance for a while, but eventually Jade's won out and the pale woman had Tori shoved up against the couch with the force she was using to kiss her ex-babysitter.

They broke apart, gasping for air and Jade stood to return to her seat with a satisfied grin on her face. Once the dares began to get a little _too _sexual, they stopped and let the other group go. The first group sat around and chatted, but Tori couldn't keep her mind off of the kiss she shared with Jade. Well, she guessed that's what alcohol was for, and took one of many gulps to come.

After Jade kicked everyone out, it was nearly three in the morning and Cat was drunk enough that the pale woman begged Derek to take her home safely, since he hadn't drank as much as everyone else. That just left Tori to help her clean up and by the time they were done, Tori was staring at Jade across the room. The pale woman crossed the room in a few quick strides and wrapped her arms around Tori's waist.

"Jade, stop." Tori muttered as she stepped away from the embrace. Jade arched her studded eyebrow and let out a confused laugh.

"Stop what? You were kissing me an hour ago…" As much as Jade hated to admit it, she had allowed herself to think, in that short time, that Tori just might become hers. Apparently it was just a thought, and couldn't be acted upon no matter how the age barriers were torn apart. With a bitter laugh, Jade nodded at Tori's silence and took a step back.

"You know… I've been in love with you since I was eight." Jade said, figuring that she might as well twist the knife further into her own bleeding heart.

Tori's eyes narrowed in confusion and Jade kept talking.

"I still am, actually. I'm head over heels in love with a girl who can never find it in her selfish fucking heart to love me back. But, that's not how it works, right? You can't just make yourself love someone, especially if you still see them as a little kid that you used to give baths and tuck in at night." Jade finished her mini speech with a cruel smirk.

"I don't really care where you go to be honest, but I don't want to see you right now." Jade muttered and looked away, praying that Tori left before the tears fell.

Without defending herself, mainly because it was true, Tori climbed the stairs and looked back once in time to see Jade wiping a tear from her eye. She finished going up the steps and shook her head.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

* * *

**A/N: **I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors because I'm ridiculously tired and lazy and I have to stay up because Liz Gillies is so close to 1 Million followers... sigh. Anyway, keep reviewing for regular updates, and thank all of you for your wonderful feed back. Welcome to those who have just now started following this story, glad to have you aboard. I love you guys!

**Next Time: **Aftermath of a killer party, and a heart to heart.


	12. Swing With Me

**Chapter 11**

* * *

It had been a solid week since Jade threw yet another legendary party and in the end, unceremoniously admitted her feelings for Tori. The Goth, as hard as she tried, couldn't get that odd expression on Tori's face out of her thoughts. As the night dragged on into the day and her head as well as the rest of her body began to protest how much she drank, Jade kept thinking that she may have pushed Tori away for good.

Contrary to how it seemed, that was definitely not what she wanted. Jade just wanted Tori to realize that she had her already and all she had to do was say the word. The pale woman knew that as soon as Tori wanted her, Jade was all hers no matter what. When the Goth thought on that later on, she became disgusted with herself at how love sick she must have seemed.

She was never the one chasing after people, everyone always chased after her. Jade assumed maybe it was a good change, one that would knock her down a few pegs and make sure that she knew exactly what she put others through on a weekly basis. Jade's hands ached from how hard she was clenching the leather steering wheel in her fists. Tori had finally decided to call her and briefly she asked if Jade wouldn't mind meeting her at the park two neighborhoods over.

It was a thirty minuet drive at the longest with traffic. Since there was none, the pale woman arrived in fifteen.  
Her combat boots scraped against the concrete that led to the wood chipped playground. Tori was sitting on a rusty swing, just pushing herself slightly back and forth with the tips of her white and blue converse. Jade silently slipped into the swing beside the unsuspecting woman, and allowed a smirk to tug at her lips.

"You're gonna fuck those up pretty bad if you keep rubbing them in the dirt like that." At Jade's husky voice, Tori jumped and her head snapped up so fast that it felt as though she pulled something.

"Crap!" The half-Latina hissed in pain as she cupped the side of her neck.  
Jade chuckled and shook her head as she leaned her forehead against the rusty chain holding the swing up that was closest to Tori.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't curse so much around me." Tori suggested with a sheepish smile and a low clearing of her throat. The brunette's warm brown eyes looked up into Jade's and seemed more open then than they had since she arrived back in Los Angeles.

"Well, cursing or not, my mouth is dirty either way." Jade said with a smirk, aiming for the exact response that she got from the other woman.

Tori's eyes widened as she thought about the implications of what the blue eyed woman had said, and Jade's smirk turned into a shit-eating grin.

"I'm kidding, chill out, Vega." Jade said with a lighthearted laugh.

Tori's eyebrows arched at the new nickname, but before she could ask her about it, Jade was already explaining.

"I like Vega more than I like calling you Vic, so deal with it." Jade shrugged and pushed herself back on the old swing.

Tori nodded to herself and pushed a smile onto her lips.

"Are you still mad at me?" Tori asked a little insecurely. Jade rolled her eyes at the question, but knew that lying would get her nowhere.

"Of course." She stated bluntly and caused Tori to cast her gaze downward. The half-Latina knew that letting her insecurities about their situation get in the way would only bite her on the ass in the end.

"Jay… it's not like I haven't thought about the kiss since the party. Not like I haven't thought about _us_ since the party…" Tori trailed off and her fingers gripped around the heavy chains holding the swings up.

"I'm sorry I kept running away from this, but I want to at least give it a try."

Jade's eyes lifted to meet Tori's after the tanned girl's confession. Blue eyes sparkled with mischief and bitter mirth.

"Give what a try? You're not staying." Jade reminded Tori with a quirk of her pierced eyebrow.

"I told you, I'm here as long as you want me, Jade." Tori declared firmly. Jade watched those honest brown eyes that she cared for so much and she nodded when she was sure that this was what Tori wanted. Tori wanted her, and Jade couldn't have been more content.

As the two of them sat in the empty park and just talked, the sun was high in the sky though it was covered with clouds. They were content to sit there in their shorts and hoodies as they really caught up with each other. Throughout their time together however, Jade constantly received a texts. Somewhere around twenty vibrations later, the irritated Goth yanked her phone out of the front pocket of her hoodie and checked who they were from.

Without much surprise from her end, she saw that they were all from Ryan wanting to talk about the week before. Tori caught the worried look on the pale woman's face, and asked her what was bothering her right then. Jade moved her gaze from the phone screen to the woman of her dreams and took a deep breath to tell her about Ryan's recent obsession with her.

"He's been a jealous mess since I broke up with him…" Jade rolled her eyes in irritation as her phone buzzed from yet another text from her admirer.

"I thought you had been dating Cat?" Tori asked with a curious rising of her arched eyebrow.

"What? No. We don't date." Jade quickly reassured her, blue eyes shooting upward to look into brown ones. A gentle breeze blew their hair in their faces, and Jade shoved her hands further into her hoodie's pocket. Jade's tongue quickly poked out to moisten her lips as she spoke up once more. She never thought that she would be nervous about explaining her and Cat's relationship to Tori, but yet there she was.

"We hook up from time to time… but she's there for me. I love her, but I'm not _in_ love with her." The pale woman shrugged her hoodie clad shoulders as she gently kicked off on the swing to move at a slow pace.

Tori took a moment to think over what had been said and she nodded her head eventually, loose brunette curls whipping around her face in the sudden breeze.

The brown eyed girl opened her mouth to finally speak, but Jade beat her to it in a burst of anxiety.

"She has a boyfriend, anyway. It's not like I'd just take her from him, I mean they're really nice togeth-"

"Jade." Tori chuckled and reached over to place her hand on Jade' knee.

"Calm down. I'm not judging you." The older woman laughed lightly and reached into the pocket of Jade's hoodie to intertwine their fingers. A slow heat rose to Jade's cheeks at the small gesture, but she ducked her head so that her onyx curls hid her heated face. Tori used her other hand to reach forward and tuck Jade's hair behind her ear and their eyes locked in a moment that was so intense, their hearts were pounding against their chests.

Jade couldn't help but think that it was unacceptable to be with someone who knocked down every defense she ever put up with a single glance, but she had to accept it because she was in love with Tori, and Tori wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

Tori kept to her word. She was still there, weeks later, sitting with Jade and Cat in the redhead's living room watching High School Musical with the both of the younger women. Jade had been skeptical about Tori staying in LA just for her, but she'd been keeping her promise and proving herself over and over again. They were halfway through HSM2 when Jade stood abruptly and walked to the kitchen to refill the popcorn.

Tori couldn't help but notice how well Jade had filled out. Her hips swayed when she walked, and there was a seductive little bounce in her step that left Tori wondering if Jade could ever just _walk_ sometimes without strutting and commanding the attention of everyone in looking range. With an inaudible sigh, the brunette chuckled to herself and flicked her eyes back to the screen in time to see a new song begin.

The feeling of someone watching her drew her attention away from the screen after a few seconds, so she turned her head and caught Cat watching her with a curious look in her large brown eyes.

"I see you haven't broken Jade's heart yet." The redhead commented bluntly. Tori's eyes widened at the comment, but she quickly composed herself in order to respond as honestly as she could.

"Cat… I've promised myself to never do that to her again, okay? I'm not sure what it would take for her to be completely sure of that, but it would also be nice if you believed me too." The half-Latina said with a small smile of truce. The metaphorical white flag had been waved, and all Cat had to do was give her seal of approval. After a tense silence between the two of them, their gazes never breaking, popcorn popping in the kitchen, and the movie playing in the background, Cat eventually nodded and smiled.

"Kay, kay." Her smile spread over her adorable face and her dimples were deep enough to hold oceans, but Tori couldn't care less about how cute Cat was and how the name suited her so well. She knew that if Cat believed in her, then Jade wasn't too far away from it either. Tori knew that she still had a lot of lost time to make up for and it would take more than a simple apology to redeem herself, but she was trying and that was all any of them could ask for.

Jade returned with a bowl full of popcorn and sat it on the coffee table in front of them before she plopped back down onto the couch in between Cat and Tori.

"Zac Efron grew up so much since then." Cat commented randomly as she reached forward for the bowl of popcorn.

"Thank God, I don't know what he was thinking with that hideous hairstyle." Jade grumbled with a disgusted frown. Cat's eyebrows shot up and she hit Jade's arm while stuffing popcorn into her mouth.

"What? I liked him in _Hairspray_."

"Jade! What you said about his hair was so mean!" The smallest girl said with a mouth full of popped kernals.

Blue eyes rolled and a pale hand covered Cat's mouth so that she'd stop talking with her mouth full.

"I swear, you're worse than Aiden." Jade muttered. By Aiden, she was referring to the child that Cat looked after for her aunt's daycare. Sometimes her aunt couldn't babysit, so Cat offered to fill in on those days. Aiden was the only child that was there consistently, so she had the greatest bond with him. Large brown eyes rolled and the redhead swallowed the buttery goodness.

Tori watched them amusedly and then reached for the remote to turn the volume up.

"Are you trying to tell us to shut up?" Jade asked with a smirk and an incredulous look in her baby blue eyes.

Tori just shrugged with a smug smirk as she returned to watching the movie.

With a shake of both of their heads, Jade and Cat watched the film too.

* * *

When Jade returned home by herself, Katherine was sitting in the living room on the couch with a magazine and a glass of red wine. She looked sane for the moment, but Jade attempted to sneak past her and rush up the stairs in order to avoid an unwanted encounter. Fate, however, was not on her side and she jammed her elbow against the wall when she turned to close the door.

A string of profanity left her lips, quiet enough that she thought that she wouldn't be heard, but the thump drew enough attention to make up for it. Katherine's eyes snapped up to look at her daughter rubbing her throbbing elbow and kicking off her combat boots at the door. She shut the front door and locked it behind her before she attempted going up the stairs and to her room.

"Jade." Ms. West called out and Jade released an irritated groan as she walked back into the living room to deal with her mother.

"What do you want?" The pale woman asked with an irritated look on her face. Her dark, heavy makeup gave her an edge on top of the terror that her glare ignited in people. Katherine sighed and rubbed her forehead before setting her glass down on the table and closing the magazine. The thick booklet was placed on the coffee table as she turned her head to look at her irritated daughter.

Blonde hair fell into the woman's eyes as she just stared for a while and took in how much Jade had grown up and changed.

"I'd like to apologize for the way I spoke to you during our last encounter." Katherine began and Jade sneered because that was not the way that mothers talked to their daughters and hers was speaking like they were sealing a business deal.

"I wasn't completely myself an-"

"Don't give me that! It's called liquid courage for a reason. Liquor just gives you the balls to say what you were afraid to before." Jade's eyes narrowed dangerously, then Katherine reprimanded her for using such foul wording.

Later that night, Katherine was gone once again and Jade was positive she wouldn't be back for at least a month.

Some things never changed.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter did _not_ want to be written (hence why it took two days) but it's finally done, and I hope you all enjoy! Keep reviewing for quick updates! And surprise! 300th reviewer gets a something special! 299th and 301st get something too for being so close lol.

**Next Time: **Date night.


	13. Kisses

**Chapter 12**

* * *

Hollywood Arts' three toned bell signaled the end of the school day and a unison sigh of relief came from Jade's last period class. It was finally Friday and school was over. Everyone stood from their seats and exited the class at once, which caused a bit of traffic at the front door. Jade shoved everyone out of her way so that she could exit first and eventually made it to the hallway without having to stab someone with the scissors she kept at her waist beneath the elastic band of her obsidian skirt.

Her boots clunked against the tiles of the hallway as she strutted to her locker with the familiar feel of all eyes on her. Whether they be in lust, love, jealousy, or curiosity, she reveled in it. Her pale fingers spun the combination on her lock without having to focus on the numbers before her locker swung open and she placed the books that she didn't need inside of the metal holding space.

When Jade made it past all of the freshmen loitering around after making it clear that she'd ruin anyone that was still standing in her way in the next three seconds, she walked outside into the heat of Los Angeles. Jade couldn't help but think that when she was a freshman, her class was nowhere near as slow on the uptake as these kids were. It was a commonly known fact, when people saw her coming, they got out the way.

Simple enough, right?

She was pulled out of her thoughts at a honk from an upgraded, cherry red Porsche to her right. A certain half-Latina rolled the windows down and shot her a face splitting grin. The corners of Jade's lips lifted in response and she leaned down into the open window.

"Vega. What are you doing here?" Jade smiled a little at the sight in front of her. She had never seen a woman more beautiful than Tori Vega. A small blush rose to the older woman's cheeks as she shrugged a little and met Jade's curious gaze.

"I came to pick you up... You didn't drive to school today, did you?" The brunette asked with the beginnings of nervousness. Jade shook her head a little and opened the passenger side door.

"No. Where are we going, boss?" Tori and Cat were the only people she displayed affection like that with. She let them have a little more control over her because she trusted them not to misuse it. Tori grinned and leaned over to place a quick peck on Jade's cheek.

"Nowhere, until you put your seatbelt on." With the small smile still on her face, Jade rolled her eyes and reached over to pull the strap down around her torso and waist.

Tori took her time pulling out of the school's parking lot and then sped down the streets when they exited the school's property. Jade's smile grew from her love of speeding, but she looked back at the school and then turned her gaze to watch the half-Latina.

"You don't want to go in and hug your teachers or all that sappy shit?" the blue eyed woman asked curiously as she shifted in the seat to get comfortable. The windows rolled down half way and blew the cool breeze throughout the Porsche. Jade's hair whipped around her face at the speed Tori was driving. With a smile, she reached over in a moment of weakness and intertwined her fingers with Tori's long, slender ones.

The feelings that Tori elicited from the Goth's body were unlike anything else she could've hoped to get from any of the other people she'd dated.

"Nah, I'd rather hug you." The half-Latina said with a playful smirk while Jade smacked her shoulder and rolled her pretty blue eyes.

"How was school?" Tori asked with the raising of her eyebrow as she took her eyes off the road for a couple seconds and look at the beautiful pale woman sitting beside her. Jade shrugged her left shoulder and kicked her booted feet up onto the dash. Her hand slid into her leather jacket's pocket where she kept her stash of gum and she slid a strip from the pack. When Tori didn't receive an answer, she glanced over for a brief moment.

It was enough time for her to catch Jade sliding the strip of gum in her mouth in a way that could only be described as unintentionally provocative. The onyx haired woman chewed thoughtfully for a moment before she sighed.

"I don't know. People are stupid, as usual." Tori laughed a little and made a sharp turn down an unfamiliar road, not that Jade minded as long as she was with the half-Latina.

"I remember that. Trust me, after high school it doesn't go away." The brunette sighed with a shake of her head. The movement caused her hair to whip around her face and she moved one hand from the steering wheel to push it behind her ear.

Jade's blue eyes moved to look out of the window as they whipped through the streets and wove through traffic. Tori's driving, as erratic as it was, didn't feel dangerous at all.

In fact, the pale woman felt at ease enough that she closed her eyes and simply listened to the wind rushing throughout the car. The comfortable silence was broken when the movement of the car came to a stop, as did the loud sound of the wind hitting her ears.

"Wake up, Jay. We're here." Jade opened her eyes immediately and sent a half hearted glare toward the driver.

"I wasn't asleep." She grumbled and leaned over for a kiss to the woman's cheek, but Tori turned her head at the last second and captured soft lips with her own. A small sound escaped Jade's throat in surprise, but she reached one hand up and tangled it in Tori's brunette tresses.

The half-Latina pulled away first with a breathless laugh and an elated smile on her lips.

"Let me take you to dinner." She suggested with a flash of her straight, white teeth.

Jade arched a curious eyebrow in confusion.

"What? Why?"

"Because I want to treat you to the finer things in life." Tori said playfully and Jade rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"You're so fucking corny."

"_Language!"_ Tori cried and threw her hands up to cover her ears, which earned her a hearty laugh from the blue eyed woman.

Jade unbuckled her seatbelt, still chuckling, and exited the car. Tori called out, right before she reached the front door.

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Sure." Jade flashed an alluring smile back at the woman who had her infatuated and acting so unlike herself, unlocked the front door, and stepped inside.

* * *

Tori and Jade entered the restaurant hand in hand and were led to a table toward the back where they were least likely to be bothered if someone they knew arrived as well. Jade sat across from her date as she skimmed over the choices on the menu. Her form-fitting obsidian dress was enough to turn heads when she first walked inside of the establishment, but with a sharp look from Tori, they quickly looked away.

Tori's own dress was an elegant looking violet with black accents. Jade had teased her about attempting to go Goth when the pale woman had seen the dress which looked like it could have come from her own closet. Blue eyes moved up from her menu to catch coffee brown ones staring back at her with something like adoration. When Tori realized that she'd been caught, she shot her gaze down at the glass of water in front of her and blushed a deep crimson from her neck to her cheeks.

Jade laughed at her embarrassment and gave a coy smirk, reaching over and taking one of Tori's hands in hers.

"Hey." Jade said to get her attention, and when the half-Latina finally met her gaze, Jade continued.

"You can stare all you want. I'd be upset if you didn't, considering I got all nice-looking for you."

Tori rolled her eyes half-heartedly and took a quick gulp of her ice cold water to cool down the heat in her cheeks.

"Explain to me why I'm letting an eighteen year old make me feel like I'm sixteen and going on my first date ever?" Tori asked with a teasing smile on her lips.

Jade pretended to be offended and let out a dramatic gasp as she brought her hand to rest over her heart in shock.

"Well, I've never been more outraged!" The pale woman mocked with an obviously exaggerated southern-belle accent.

Tori's eyes widened and she didn't know whether to laugh or be upset that Jade thought she talked that way.

"Do I really talk like that?" Tori asked in surprise and her shock melted when Jade dropped the accent and shook her head with an amused chuckle.

"Only in my head." Jade muttered with a smug smirk and Tori threw her napkin at her.

Their laughter was interrupted when the waiter came over and asked them for their orders. Half way through Tori's order, the tall, muscular teen locked eyes with Jade and sputtered in surprise.

"Holy shit. Are you Jade West?"

Tori trailed off in the middle of her order, not that the guy was listening anymore anyway.

Jade rolled her eyes and sighed as she looked back up at him.

"Who wants to know?" The pale woman asked with an undertone of irritation in her voice.

"Your plays! They're phenomenal and you're such a huge inspiration to me and my friends. I've been to every one opening night and if you could just-"

Jade cut him off before he could make a bigger ass out of himself.

"Why don't _you _just take my date's order as you were doing before you so rudely interrupted her?"

The teen stood up straight and seemed to realize how oblivious he must have seemed. His hand flew up to straighten his tie and he looked back at Tori's conflicted expression and politely resumed taking her order. He took Jade's next and then scurried off toward the back.

Jade was checking her notifications on The Slap when she felt Tori staring at her. The Goth put her phone down and met Tori's gaze.

"What's up, Vega?"

"I didn't know how popular you had gotten since I left." Tori responded with an uneasy chuckle.

"It's just that, maybe you should be here with people who adore you and not your old babysitter." The youngest Vega finished and dropped her gaze down to the table.

Jade shook her head and leaned forward to tilt Tori's head up so that she could look the brunette in the eye.

"I don't want to be here with anyone else but you." Jade said with a shrug before she dropped her hand and picked up her phone again to continue checking her Slap page.

"Deal with it." The pale woman said as an afterthought and Tori's smile returned as well as her blush.

* * *

Exquisite dinner and a shared brownie sundae later, Tori dropped Jade off at home and walked her to the front door just like any other date. The half-Latina didn't quite know where this relationship of theirs was going, but she knew that she didn't want it to end.

"Thanks. For tonight." Jade said while staring into chocolate colored eyes that she could drown in.

"Any time." Tori said with a cute smile forming on her pink lips. Jade chuckled and pulled Tori forward by the black belt around her dress, seconds later, their lips were smashed together with a ferocity that left them both craving more.

They broke away, panting, and stared at each other with a mixture of shock and curiosity. Jade pushed the already unlocked door open and yanked Tori in after her. The Goth closed and locked the door behind both of them and pushed Tori down onto the couch, surprising both of them.

Their lips connected once more, moving slowly but surely against each other. Jade's hands wandered toward the back of Tori's dress where she pulled the zipper down enough to tug the dress down the tan girl's body and throw it onto the floor in a heap.

The half-Latina was left in her matching black lace underwear. Jade paused for a moment to take in the sight before she looked up at Tori's face and quirked an eyebrow.

"Were you planning this?" she smirked when Tori blushed and leaned down to kiss and bite at the brunette's neck.

Tori finally remembered how to work her fingers and undid Jade's dress as well, which ended up right next to her own. A small moan escaped her lips when Jade's hands trailed up and gently grabbed her breasts while biting a particularly sensitive part of her neck.

Jade smiled against her skin and proceeded to lift the half-Latina's legs to wrap around her pale waist. Tori lifted her arms to wrap around Jade's neck as she attempted to get more contact with the Goth on top of her, but Jade was obviously planning on drawing it out as long as she could.

The onyx haired woman traveled back up to Tori's lips once more and she sighed into the kiss with sound like relief. Those lips traveled back down to kiss every inch of Tori's quivering stomach.

The expanse of tan skin exposed to Jade was like heaven and she wasted no time in worshipping every inch. Her teeth dragged down and nipped down to her bellybutton before her tongue dipped in briefly just to tease the half-Latina.

Tori whimpered and arched her hips up once again for more friction but received none. By the time that Jade made it down to the top of her panties, she skipped over them and went straight for Tori's thighs. The tan woman was panting beneath her, but Jade continued to take her time.

The blue eyed woman sucked on the inside of Tori's thighs until she made several dark marks to claim what was hers. Jade hooked her fingers beneath the elastic of Tori's panties to pull them down, but she heard a car pull into the driveway and her hands froze.

"_Shit_." Jade cursed under her breath and grabbed both of their dresses in one movement. Tori blinked, dazed and disoriented, when Jade wrapped her hand around hers and dragged her up the stairs to her bedroom where she locked the door and threw both of their dresses on the bed.

Tori's face heated for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night when she saw Jade in nothing but her bra and boy shorts. They were the ones that cut off half way so that the bottom of her butt was exposed.

Tori ran a shaking hand though her wavy tresses and accepted the lingering kiss that Jade pressed against her lips. The pale woman gave Tori her dress back and proceeded to her own dresser to put on her pajamas while Tori put on her dress.

"We'll do this some other time, okay?" Jade smirked seductively and bit Tori's bottom lip teasingly before she pulled away.

"Okay." Tori said with a giddy smile still tugging on the corners of her lips.

When Jade walked Tori downstairs, Katherine was passed out on the same sofa that they were moments way from making love on, but Jade just walked Tori to her car and kissed her goodbye before going back inside.

When Tori made it down the street to her house, she locked herself in her old bedroom and immediately called Anthony.

"_Hey, Sunshine! Everyone misses you over here."_

Tori smiled at his words and sat down on her bed.

"I miss everyone too. Especially you. But… I need some advice."

* * *

**A/N: **I missed writing this so much. I got swamped with two major projects at school that monopolized ALL of my time, and then the past few days I've been ridiculously sick. (Not too serious, but enough to keep me from writing anything resembling as good chapter) I'm glad to be back though, and hopefully nothing else gets in the way of updates. Also, I wanted to know if you guys wanted a sex scene at some point in this story? I'll either bump up the rating or just have one lone chapter dedicated to it which people can skip over if they so desire. Just a thought, but let me know, yeah?

**Next Time:**Rumor has it...


	14. Rumor Has It

**Chapter 13**

* * *

When Jade walked through the entrance of Hollywood Arts on Monday, she expected to see a couple performing their dance routine on the stairs. She expected to see a couple of teens standing in a circle singing their talented hearts out to the newest songs on the Billboard Top 10. She expected to see someone banging on the Wahoo Punch machine because the damn thing always got stuck.

But what she didn't expect to see, were people whispering and staring at her. Usually, staring wasn't a bad thing, considering how she demanded the attention of a room when she entered. This, however, was not the good kind of attention. This was the attention that meant someone's nose would be getting broken as soon as she found out who spread a rumor about her, especially if it wasn't true.

Her boots made a silencing noise as she strutted to her locker with the usual air of confidence surrounding her like a second aura. Conversations ceased immediately when she walked past a group of people and gazes were either glued to her in fascination or quickly avoided. Jade didn't worry about it too much because she comforted herself with the fact that whoever began this dumb ass rumor would be socially annihilated until they graduate if they're lucky.

The other outcome was a bit too violent for her to get into detail in her mind. She had classes to prepare for. When Ryan of all people walked up to her with a scarily serious expression on his generally goofy face, she knew that there was a problem. That inference alone was enough to make her blood boil. For the next ten minuets, even after the three toned bell rang for first period, Ryan told her all about how the rumor started off small and innocent, which no one thought anything about.

Jade was growing impatient because Ryan was the type of guy who really got into stories. That feature about him was fantastic for play-writes and for the many stories that he had written, but when Jade's patience was on the line along with possibly her reputation, she didn't have time for him to elaborate.

"I swear on my grandmother's grave, Ryan, if you don't just tell me what the fuck happened…" Jade threatened with that gleam in her eye that let everyone who knew her know that if they didn't quit screwing around, blood would be shed.

"Okay, okay!" Ryan yelped with a startled look in his light brown eyes and he got to the point.

"Apparently someone saw you in Tori Vega's car on Friday and they told someone else who I guess assumed you two are a thing…" he trailed off hoping for some type of confirmation considering he was very curious of that himself. When he received none, he huffed and continued.

"Anyway, that got around and then people started saying that you two were making out in the car in the middle of the parking lot…" Once again, Ryan gave a lull in the story to give Jade the chance to interject any type of hint that this never happened. He didn't receive one because Jade was a bit too busy fantasizing about using her scissors to remove vital anatomy from the person who started this shit.

Her usually pale skin had darkened around her cheeks and neck to a deep, angry red. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides and she started to grind her teeth in aggravation.

Ryan noticed this but figured it best that she knew the whole truth. So that's what he told her.

"_That_ rumor eventually evolved into the two of you… ah." He paused and tried to put it in a way that wouldn't make Jade want to release her violent wrath on him first.

"Well, pretty much they were saying that the two of you 'crunched the corn shell' right there in front of the school in her car." Ryan finished and immediately took a large step back in order to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. Jade's baby blue eyes widened to cartoonish proportions as her nostrils flared and she ripped a pair of her locker's decoration scissors off on her way to her first period class.

All the while, murderous thoughts were going through her head that probably would have frightened her were she not absolutely furious at that moment.

By third period she was absolutely fed up with the snide remarks and the side glances she received from everyone. If it wasn't for Cat being by her side the entire time, she definitely would have committed several murders that morning.

The icing on top of her shitty cake came when the bell for the start of fourth period made it's three toned sound, immediately followed by Lane's voice over the intercom calling her into his office. With a frustrated groan, Jade left the class and shoved over a late freshman on her way to the guidance councilor's office. She yanked the door open and practically threw herself onto the couch in the center of the room.

"What do you want, Lane?"

The man stood from his seat and used that generic calming voice that always pissed Jade off because no matter how sympathetic he sounded to all these people's situations, there was no way in hell that he truly gave a shit about the majority of their problems.

"I've called you down here due to a very disturbing story I've heard about you and one of our graduated students, Tori Vega." Jade already knew where this conversation was going so she held up a slender hand and stopped him before he can say any further.

"Those stupid rumors aren't true and I refuse to get in trouble for someone else's perverted little incompetent mind." Jade snapped with the anger in her stomach threatening to climb back up and rip out through her throat with a series of esteem shattering insults toward the asshole that started that mess.

"I understand that you feel they aren't true, but that doesn't change the fact that Hollywood Arts has a very spotless reputation and we can't risk word getting out that one of out seniors, top of her class, has been engaging in sexual intercourse with a previous student in their car in front of the school. It's completely intolerable!" Lane finished with a very wide and dramatic gesture of his hands that made Jade really think. It was that moment that she stopped feeling as though _she _was actually getting yelled at. She guessed that's what they meant by an 'out of body experience' when the next words were said.

"This could result in expulsion and suspension if you're lucky." Jade's face was so blank in fact, that Lane repeated the sentence for the simple fact that he believed she didn't hear him the first time.

Then Jade began talking. She wasn't ever extremely eloquent when it came to expressing herself, because she tended to reserve that for when she wrote her breathtaking plays and several stories that won awards that Hollywood Arts proudly displayed and used when they boasted about their school to the other performing arts schools in the area. She talked about how much she's contributed to this school. She talked about how one false statement from one unknown student shouldn't be the determining factor of how her life would go downhill.

She couldn't get expelled.

Hollywood Arts was the third place in the entire earth she felt like she belonged. The first and second being in Tori and Cat's arms respectively. She didn't mention the last part because it was personal and it was something that she would want to keep to herself due to how much it actually meant to her. That was the first time that she felt numb enough to just say whatever came to mind to this consular that she didn't even have a great relationship with.

Maybe that moment was meant to be sad, but she didn't feel that way at all. She felt blank because that wasn't happening to her. Things like that don't happen to people like Jade. Her largest issue should have been worrying if her mom just would never come back one night. Maybe it should have been wondering if her and Tori would ever actually work out, but Lane shoved a wrench in her quickly spiraling thoughts and nodded in that generically sympathetic way of his.

"Alright… alright. Expulsion isn't an option… for now." He said, and with that Jade was on her way to lunch since she missed a couple of periods. She felt weird inside, and maybe it was because she was finally coming back into her body and she could feel again. The first thing she actually felt was relief, because she wasn't getting expelled. The next thing she felt was rage, because someone nearly cost her everything that she had worked for. Asshole.

* * *

The next morning, Cat told Jade that Ryan had been the one to spread the rumors and that if the redhead had known he was lying to her the day before; she would have "fucked him up". Cat's words directly.

Jade waited in the Janitor's closet for him to walk by and when he did, she cracked the door open and yanked at his arm hard enough to drag him inside. His handsome face looked absolutely confused for a moment before he realized who pulled him inside and smiled a little slimily.

"Hey there gorgeous. Quickie for old times sake?" was the first thing he said with that greasy smile of his.

"If you ever even _think_ about spreading a dumb ass rumor like the one you tried to pull again, I will personally drag the blades of my sharpest scissors up and down your esophagus, _into _your neck until every last drop of blood has exited your larynx and pools on the floor so that I can lay you face down in it and tell everyone you drowned in your fucking blood. Got it?" Jade asked with an eerily relaxed voice even though her eyes were cold as ice. Ryan's hands were trembling at his sides and his eyes went wide enough that his expression might have been comical were it not for the serious waves of anger Jade had emitting from her body at that moment.

He jerkily nodded his head and his spiked hair flopped all around his face before he fumbled with the door handle and all but ran from the closet. Jade wasn't quite sure which part of her threat got to him more, but she did know that for the rest of the week, not a single person was looking at her sideways and everything was back to the way it should have been.

The redhead sat beside Jade at lunch and shared her Caesar Salad with the Goth to see her smile a little bit. Cat wasn't exactly sure what happened after she told Jade that Ryan was the one who started the most recent mess, but she noticed that Jade seemed fairly preoccupied afterwards.

Jade told Cat everything that happened between her and Ryan, even before their nasty break up and their shitty argument a few hours before the two of them sat down for lunch. Cat just listened like she always had with Jade and when the pale woman was done talking, Cat leaned forward and kissed Jade on the cheek with an innocent little grin on her red lips.

Jade chuckled and shook her head because she could only think about how much she had missed Cat that past week, considering she was the only constant thing in her life. Then she actually smiled because Cat had taken her mind off of Ryan and his bullshit.

Jade had nearly forgotten how great a friend Cat was and she made a mental note to never take her for granted.

* * *

**A/N: **So sorry. I really am. My school is literally giving us major test after major test along with more projects that are worth more than half of my grade and I've been exhausted. I still have the majority of the story planned out so I'll try harder to crank out these chapters so please just bear with me. :) On another note, this has hit 300 reviews and I'm so fucking happy about that. It's made my crappy week a little bit better. I just need the 301st reviewer and 299, 300, and 301 can receive their prizes via PM. Expect that around next chapter. This chapter was a filler and the drama pours in throughout the next few chapters so buckle up kids!

**Next Time:** Daddy's home.


	15. Daddy's Home

**Chapter 14**

* * *

It had been a week after the incident at school and Jade was minding her own business as she sat on the couch in the den and watched re-runs of old shows she used to love when she was younger. Of course, watching them at the age she was then at revealed to her how many things went way over her head when she was little. Then she heard keys in the door and in walked Katherine and Jade's father. He hadn't changed much since she had last seen him, except he had a beard when he walked inside the house and the kind light in his eyes, reserved only for his little girl, was long gone.

That of course wasn't what shocked her down to her very core. It was more about the fact that her mother and father were laughing together as if they had never split up. Her mom wasn't drunk or passed out for the first time in a while, and there she was, standing with her ex husband and laughing as if they hadn't a care in the world. With a look of sheer disbelief, her PearPhone slipped through her fingers and clattered onto the floor with a loud thud that drew her parent's attention.

Their laughter died down and she made eye contact with her father for the first time in years. He eyed her for a while with a carefully blank expression on his stubbly, handsome face. With a tired sigh he shook his head in disappointment and walked into the kitchen with Jade's mother who either didn't notice the hurt that flashed across Jade's face, or just ignored it. Jade hoped it was the first one. She really did.

Her bottom lip found itself caught between her teeth as she numbly picked her phone up from the floor and grabbed the remote to turn off the TV and head upstairs so that she wouldn't have to be bothered with receiving dirty looks instead of a simple hello and warm greeting that she should have gotten from her MIA father. As much as she truly hated to admit it, Jade was hurt and she didn't know what to do about it. When they all sat around the table for dinner that night, Jade's father acted as if he never left.

He talked about his job just like he used to and he talked about how stupid his coworkers are, though Jade knew that if they were sitting at the table with them, he'd be even nicer to them than to his own family. If that was how the business world worked, kissing the asses of people 'above' her, then she was glad she selected performing arts to get into rather than the cold and cruel world of businessmen and women. That lifestyle wasn't made for her.

Basically, everything and nothing was different. It was different because her father didn't acknowledge her in the sense of making her feel important and loved, but the same because his mannerisms immediately came flooding back and with them came memories of when he used to be her father and not just some man that contributed to her creation. She glared at her plate and angrily stabbed pieces of her steak with the silverware in her left hand.

When she realized it had suddenly become silent, she dared to look up from the meal in front of her. Her eyebrows shot downward in irritation when she saw that her father was looking at her like she was stupid. After a loaded silence, she quirked and eyebrow and burst.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She snapped sharply, causing an indignant frown to form on the man's face.

"Why on earth would you use your left hand to eat when you are defiantly right handed? I know you're not nearly talented enough to be ambidextrous, so fix your hand and eat the correct way." He nodded in a satisfied manner and returned to his meal as well as the conversation he was holding with his ex wife as if he hasn't just completely insulted his daughter. Jade ran her tongue over the front of her teeth and cast her gaze back down to her meal.

Her heart banged loudly in her chest. She hadn't felt that shameful since she was eight and her asshole of a principal said that her play wasn't good and that she needed physiological help. Her jaw clenched as she gathered the last of her dignity and switched hands that she held her fork in before resuming her meal without once speaking up. She wouldn't dare interrupt their conversation.

Later that night, Jade found herself curled into a ball on the top of her bed sheets as she played music through the speakers on her nightstand. She blinked slowly and looked up with her eyes slightly squinted when she realized that she had fallen asleep. A brief glance at her phone said that it was three in the morning. It also dawned on her that she had a sore arm from the position she was sleeping in. Jade groaned a little and rose up on her bed.

She leaned over and turned off the music because it was only going to worsen her impending headache.

A loud moan rang out from down the hallway as soon as she did.

Blue eyes shot wide open in shock before she fumbled for the button to turn the music back on. There wasn't much she could do to avoid what was going on two rooms down, but she'd rather listen to anything but what they were doing. With a slightly indignant sniff, Jade rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stood up to retrieve her laptop from on top of her dresser. To keep her mind off of the increasingly loud noises coming from her mother's bedroom, she began working on a screenplay that had been in her head for the past couple of weeks.

The soft sound of the rock music playing as well as the steady sound of the keys she pressed was enough to keep her occupied through the night.

* * *

The next morning, Jade still hadn't gone to sleep, and when the stifling smell of bacon and eggs came from downstairs, the onyx haired woman began to feel nauseous. It wasn't that she didn't like the food, in fact it was two of the things she preferred to eat in the morning, yet it was the implication behind it that made her uncomfortable. It had literally been months since her mother had made breakfast which meant that she was trying to impress her father enough to convince him to stick around.

It was one of the tactics Katherine had used right before the divorce. Jade supposed that her mother was convinced that in order to keep her husband, she must act more motherly. If that included making breakfast every morning from then on, she would do it. When Jade couldn't take it any longer, she trudged down stairs in nothing but the tank top and sweat pants she changed into throughout the night. The sound of plates being set out was almost familiar if she thought back to when she was very little and ate with her parents for all meals aside from lunch.

A bitter smile made its way to her lips when her father sat down in the button down shirt that he was wearing the day before, though it was wrinkled and the buttons were through the wrong holes. Her mother didn't even bother to hide her 'sex hair' and they all sat around uncomfortably until her father attempted to say grace.

"Well, we all know you two are far from holy." The Goth smirked cruelly at her parents and tilted her chair back just slightly, pushing with the tip of her foot. Her mother sucked her cheeks in, a habit that she should really break, considering that Jade could always tell that she won when that expression was made. Her father pulled at his ear and cleared his throat before he turned his cold gaze onto his straight-faced daughter.

He pushed a breath out through his nose as his lips pursed in a tight line, "Jade, I came back to speak with the both of you about something, but if you can't find the decency to act civilized at the table then you may be dismissed."

Blue eyes rolled at the formal tone that he adopted when speaking to her.

"_I _need to act civilized? You show up, unannounced, stay for one meal and then have sex with your ex wife two rooms down from your teenage daughter! Then you have the nerve to lecture _me_ about decency." Jade outright laughed and stood up from her seat with every intention of packing a bag and staying at Tori's for a while.

"It's not as if I'm coming back! You two can go _right _back to how you were without me!" He shouted in a moment of fury, which caused two pairs of eyes to land on him, one in shock and the other in confusion.

"Y-you… what?" Katherine spoke up as she leaned forward in her seat as if that would help her hear him more clearly. She shifted several times, switching from keeping her hands in her lap, to placing her elbows on the table, to crossing her arms. Eventually, she settled for the first position.

"You're not?" she reworded her first question to what she actually meant to say. Jade turned around in the doorway and watched with a perplexed expression on her pale face.

With a heavy sigh, Mr. West looked down at his cold food and shook his head. That wasn't how he planned to go about the conversation, but what had been done, was done.

"I'm not leaving my wife to come back here." He began slowly into a room that had gone utterly silent.

"I'm still happily married and when I came here, it was never with the intention of things going as far as they did last night."

Jade watched in utter astonishment while Katherine tried in vain to blink back tears. That bitter smile crept back to Jade's lips and she chuckled darkly.

"Of course." She continued to laugh humorlessly as she made her way up the stairs and began to shove clothes and other necessary items into a duffle bag that she kept beneath her bed for when she wanted to get out of the house. It was just like her father to so casually drop a bomb like that on his already destroyed family. Jade still wasn't even sure why he had left in the first place but she did know that it was mostly his fault that her upbringing was shit.

She considered going to hang out with Cat for a couple of days, but then she realized that the only person she really wanted at the moment was Tori. Without a second thought, she was speeding down the stairs and heading down the street.

Several hours later found Jade curled up on the bed with a sympathetic Tori Vega. The half-Latina was caressing her scalp as Jade ranted to her about how shitty her life felt at the moment. It had taken the youngest Vega an hour to convince Jade to tell her what was bothering her, and another hour to get her to actually start talking about it. After a while, the entire story just came spilling out and Tori couldn't help but feel useless in all of it. What was she supposed to say other than the fact that she was sorry for her?

Even then, Jade would never directly admit to wanting her sympathy. Tori had never been through anything quite like her situation, so how was she to go about making the pale woman feel better? She had a feeling that Jade's way of coping was to just rant and yell, maybe even throw or break some things. She wouldn't mind letting her get the anger out of her system even if it meant some things in her room would become broken beyond repair.

Jade slowly trailed off and turned around in Tori's arms to face the half-Latina. A small smile curved her lips after she stared into Tori's chocolate brown eyes for several minuets. She leaned in and captured those lips with her own as a thank you. Tori wasn't like previous relationships she had been in. They all would cut her off mid rant with a kiss or tell her to be quiet and forget about it. What they didn't understand was that Jade didn't want to forget about her problems because she knew that they were still there no matter what she did.

She needed to talk so someone who would listen and actually care. This person just happened to be Tori. The tanned woman responded eagerly as she wove her thin fingers through raven tresses and molded their lips together. A smile tugged on the corner of Tori's lips as she kissed Jade and she realized that this woman in her arms was the most important person in the world to her. When they pulled away, they spent an immeasurable amount of time staring at one another.

"I love you." Tori declared with a light in her eye that Jade had only seen glimpses of since the brunette had returned from New York.

Jade kissed and lightly bit the tip of her nose before she smiled genuinely and said, "Not nearly as much as _I _love _you_." A smirk curved the Goth's lips upward and she chuckled and the blush that rose to Tori's neck and cheeks.

"You mean so much to me, Jade." Tori began seriously as she cupped Jade's cheek with her tanned hand and caressed her cheekbones with the pad of her thumb.

"You're one of the most important people in my life and I don't think I can imagine my life without you in it anymore." Tori's lip caught between her teeth as she spoke from her heart.

Jade's eyes attempted to become watery, but with years of practice under hear belt, she quickly blinked them into nonexistence.

"Don't get all sappy on me now, Vega." Jade responded roughly through the knot that formed in her throat. She may have been able to blink back the tears, but the emotions were still there and the overwhelming love she felt for Tori in that moment was enough to actually choke her up a bit. For the rest of the night, Jade stayed cuddled close to Tori, wrapped in tan arms well into the next morning.

With that new morning, came the news that Mr. West was gone once again, and this time Jade didn't wish for him to return.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry this story is taking so long, but school is almost out which means more time to write (: Anyway, thank you to everyone sticking with this story, and I'll have those prizes arranged ASAP for the winners. All of you that review and favorite and alert, I love you guys. Since finals are nearly done, if you guys review, I'll crank out the next chapter by the end of the week. This one felt like a filler, and it kind of is because it's foreshadowing to the next events. Yes, this story does get more dramatic. Remember to review for the drama!

**Next Time: **New family, meet used family.


	16. I Love You and Daddy Issues

**Chapter 15**

* * *

It had been a long, blurry week for Jade. School blended together with the time she spent with Tori as well as the parties she was invited to over the weekend. Apparently five kids, all nearly as popular at Hollywood Arts as her, had huge parties from Friday through Sunday.

Two of them had joint parties that lasted well into the next morning and gave Jade just enough time to go home, shower, and catch a quick nap before going to the next. The youngest member of the Vega family couldn't say that she approved of all the time Jade was spending with a group of avid partiers, especially when the Goth let on that these parties were full of high-class drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately for Tori, however, Jade didn't quite feel bad enough to keep her from attending.

She was Jade West, so the party didn't really begin until she arrived anyway. That following Tuesday, as Jade sat in Tori's car outside of Jet Brew, she received a phone call. The ringtone was generic because whoever had placed a call out to her was not previously in her contact list. Blue eyes shifted to the pear-shaped screen before her pale thumb pressed the 'accept' button for the phone call. She moved the red device up to her ear and turned away from Tori as she said hello.

Tori sat with her knees pulled up to her chest in the driver's seat. The sun was shining directly in her face, but it wasn't as if she noticed because her coffee colored eyes landed on Jade as the Goth began listening to whoever was on the other line. The brunette watched a frown slowly form on the pale woman's face as she continued to listen to the deep voice on the other line. Tori couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but she could tell that it was a man talking at Jade and not some adolescent boy from Hollywood Arts.

After a few tense moments of silence, Jade's pale blue eyes met Tori's with a slightly panicked look in them. That look only served to make Tori more anxious than she already was. Jade hadn't said more than two words on the entire phone call, the first being "Hello" and the second, "Okay". When the Goth hung up, she continued to stare at her hands placed in her lap until Tori reached over and laced their fingers through each other's.

"What's wrong, Jay?" The brunette eventually asked softly. The gentle lilt to her voice made Jade glance up and meet her eyes.

"My dad… he wants me to have dinner with him?" Jade said it as a fact, yet her disbelief made the statement come out as more of a question. Tori's eyes studied Jade's face for a moment to determine if this was good or bad news, but the pale woman's expression was carefully blank aside from her confusion. Jade exhaled sharply and turned her head to gaze out of the tinted window. Before Tori got a chance to ask what the matter was, Jade began talking. Her voice was especially soft when she began, so the tan woman had to lean forward to hear her.

"He wants to me to have dinner with him and his new family." Jade's bottom lip was once again wedged between her teeth as she balled her fists up on her lap. She couldn't understand why she kept letting him do this to her, or why he even wanted to. The pain he inflicted on her life was relentless and she was hopelessly waiting for the day he just dropped out of her life forever. Everything was at least partially okay until he came back.

Tori dropped her gaze onto her hands and played with her fingers for a moment before she responded.

"When…" Tori paused as she attempted to organize what she wanted to say in a way that wouldn't upset Jade. Eventually, all she said was, "When does he want to have the dinner?" she asked gently. Jade worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared straight ahead. The sun was shining in her direction and its rays lit her eyes up to a nearly indescribable color. If there wasn't such tension in the small space, Tori would mention it, though as it was, she patiently waited for Jade's answer.

"Tonight at eight. We're going to some high-end restaurant that his new 'family' probably can't even pronounce. He can't be serious, Vega… I mean it's cool that he's moved on and all but why does he have to keep me and my mom from doing the same?" Jade began to ramble and her cheeks heated up with the frustration that built with each breath she took in between sentences.

"It's his fault mom is always drinking and whatever other shit she's out doing at all hours of the day! Then when he came back, it's like she was the same woman that was there for me when I was little or when I'd scrape my knee and she'd put one of those dumb ass Hello Kitty band-aids on it just so I'd be careful next time." Jade took a breath and happened to catch Tori's perplexed expression.

"I'd be careful so I wouldn't have to walk around with a Hello Kitty band-aid on my body for a week." The pale woman explained, but that's not what Tori was confused about. After nearly a full minuet of awkward silence, Jade finally asked what was getting Tori to make that expression.

"Jade, you're so much better than how you're treated…" the half-Latina blurted out with a look of tender adoration on her face. Jade's lip twitched in surprise and she turned more in the passenger seat to fully face Tori, whose eyes were looking a little watery. Pale hands immediately reached out and cupped tan cheeks with a gentleness that surprised both of them.

When Jade's worried eyes met Tori's sad ones, a tear built in the corner of the half-Latina's eye and traveled slowly down to the corner of her mouth where it spread out across the space between her closed lips and dripped to her faded blue jeans. Jade, not knowing what else to do, tentatively leaned forward and kissed down the path that the tear made. When the blue eyed woman reached Tori's lips, she lingered for a moment longer than she had on her cheek before she pulled away.

"God, I'm such a wimp." Tori pushed out a shaky breath that turned into a watery laugh as her cheeks heated up in embarrassment. One corner of Jade's lips turned up in a tiny smirk as she watched Tori reach up and cover her hands with her own on her cheeks.

"You just… You're the one with all of these misfortunes and here I am crying because I don't know what to do to help you." The half-Latina's eyes locked onto Jade's soft ones and the pale woman kissed away another tear that threatened to escape. When Tori opened her eyes, she saw that Jade was smiling and it made her stomach squeeze into knots while butterflies with powerful wings danced around in her stomach as well.

"You being here for me, like this, is more than I could even ask from you. Please don't carry my problems on your shoulders, Vic. All I want from you, is to just keep being you." Jade spoke with a seriousness that made Tori hesitant to say anything in case she wasn't finished talking. After a moment of silence, Tori moistened her lips and broke the eye contact they had been maintaining.

"I want to take the weight off of your shoulders. I want to protect you from everything that's been hurting you lately, even if at the beginning that would mean protecting you from myself… can't you see how I would start to feel kind of insufficient? I can't-"

"_Please_ stop telling me what you can't do. You are literally the most important person in my life-"

"But you have Cat-"

"Shut up, Tori. I have you. Yes, Cat will also be there for me, but you're everything to me and I wasn't wrong in what I said before. I love you." Jade's hands slid down and grasped Tori's wrists as she pulled both of them toward her to make Tori lean forward.

"I love you, I love you, I love you." Tori bit her lip to hold off the huge smile that was already pulling at her lips.

"I love you too, Jade. I love you too."

* * *

Jade walked into Osteria Mozza on Melrose at exactly 8:05. She wasn't sure if her father was trying to be cruelly ironic because of the fact that her family is part Italian and this was an Italian restaurant. It was more like a slap in the face because he was bringing his new family into a part of her life that she didn't want to share. Aside from this man being her father, the fact that they were mixed with Italian was the only thing they had in common.

When she gave her last name, a tall, semi-attractive waiter guided her to the back of the restaurant where her father was sitting along with a short brown eyed brunette who was clearly his new wife. At a second glance, there were two more heads at the table, one a small boy with light brown hair and large blue eyes, the other a girl her age with dark brown hair and eyes matching her mother's. _Great, so the step monster has kids._ Jade couldn't help but think to herself.

She slid into a seat as far away from her step family as possible, which happened to be beside her father.

"Jadelyn, how lovely of you to make it." He said with a beaming smile she hadn't seen since she was little. Of course the bitter part about it was that the smile was as fake as the necklace around his new wife's neck. Jade rolled her eyes and placed her black purse in her lap.

"Dad, you know my name is Jade and only Jade. If you wanted to do something fancy with it, you're about 18 years too late." She grumbled and unfolded her napkin, aligning her utensils with an ease that suggested she'd done it countless times before. His wife laughed as if what she said was hilarious and leaned forward to look past Mr. West and get a look at Jade.

"You are _so_ funny! And gorgeous too, James you didn't tell me that you had such a lovely daughter!" The woman's slightly tanned hand rested on Mr. West's shoulder and Jade rolled her eyes in irritation without responding to the compliment.

"Yes, well she's lovely when she wants to be." He chuckled and flashed that fake smile once more. She was pretty sure he was trying to tell her to play along with his 'perfect family' game, but Jade didn't feel like she owed him a thing.

"Jade, this is Tamzin and her brother Taylor."

With a glance at the boy, he startlingly reminded her of a boy version of her younger self. The same colored eyes, which she shared with her father, and same original hair color. The only thing that he lacked was the pale skin, which Jade had gotten from her mother instead. With a narrow eyed gaze, she turned on her father and sent him a sharp glare as she spoke low enough for only him to hear.

"Is that your _son_?" Jade hissed.

James straightened out his tie and cleared his throat, "Not now, Jade."

"So that's a yes." The Goth clenched her teeth and shook her head. How could he have not only a wife but a new three year old son and then have the nerve to go back to his old family and cheat on his new wife? She was ashamed to call him her father.

The girl watched her in curiosity; she had on a strapless floral patterned dress and baby pink pumps that matched the flowers in the otherwise white and green dress. Her dark hair fell in large ringlets down her back and Jade couldn't help but think that she dressed very similarly to Cat.

"How come you have so many piercings? You look like one of those punk girls that listen to those screech-boxes they call bands." She spoke like a typical valley girl, the ones that Jade usually sent running for the hills with a glare or threat. She hated her already.

"I have all these piercings because my darling daddy left me and my mom to go and play house with you guys." Jade smirked and folded her hands on top of the table with a wide faux smile. Mr. West froze in his attempts to wipe dripped water from his pristinely whitened plate and slowly turned to look at Jade while she continued to speak. "And what happens if I _do_ listen to those bands? That music probably holds more IQ points in its lyrics than you have in your entire brain."

"_Jade_!"

"Oh, my bad… are we supposed to ignore that fact that you brought your used daughter to meet your shiny, new family?" Jade glared with an anger that was riling her up as the seconds ticked on. Mr. West opened his mouth to protest when she cut him off once more.

"Or are we ignoring that the last time you came to visit us, you fucked my mother!" The Goth snapped with a furious, icy glint in her blue eyes.

Jade was perversely enjoying the looks of pain and betrayal on the faces around her. Mr. West slammed his fist down on the table after the several seconds of stunned silence. The silverware clattered and the drinks sloshed over the brims of their glasses.

"Damn it, Jade! _Bullshit_ like this is the reason fate nearly had you expelled from school for sleeping with _Tori Vega_, your old babysitter, in her car!" The faces of the new West family morphed from shock to disgust at the implication that Tori was _way _older than she actually was.

"Sure, lie on me to make yourself not look as bad! You know, for all the shit you used to spout at me about West pride, you're a horrible example of a father _and _a person." The pale woman sneered at her father as a stout, balding man in a uniform walked over with a bewildered expression.

"Excuse me, but if you cannot keep your voices down, we will have to escort you out of my establishment!"

"Don't worry. I was just leaving." Jade muttered angrily and stormed out of the restaurant with silence in her wake.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm back! PM me if you're curious to where I was, but know that I really missed writing this story! Updates might not be daily, but one or two updates a week is looking pretty good (: Make sure to review and I'll write faster haha.


	17. Let Me Make You Feel Better

**Chapter 16 - (Warning: Rated M)**

* * *

Next Wednesday, the sky was overcast and the static in the air was frightening for people born and raised in Los Angeles, who weren't accustomed to the way outside could feel right before a storm. Storms were few and far in between on the west coast, which is why everyone was pretty much holed up in their houses on this day. Everyone except for Mr. West who was knocking on the door of his ex wife's house with the most authoritative knock he could muster at noon.

Katherine shifted in her sleep at the first two minuets of knocking and then finally cracked her eyes open with great effort when the sound became more persistent. With a string of muttered curses, she cursed Jade for forgetting her key once again. Since said daughter was out with Cat, or so she said, Jade's mother assumed it was her daughter outside making all of this noise.

Imagine her surprise to see her ex husband standing there in a business suit and pulling at his neck tie when she opened the oak door. Her bloodshot, bleary eyes trained on him with a frown pulling at her lips as she slowly stepped to the side and allowed her ex husband into her house.

"Katherine… I didn't-" James cleared his throat and tried again.

"Did I wake you?" He asked awkwardly, as he felt as if he knew the home but the home had yet to remember him. Katherine's blue eyes narrowed at him and she turned to sit on the arm of the couch as he stood in the doorway of the living room.

"What are you here for, James?"

The man held his head higher for what he assumed to be a quick confidence boost.

"These past few days, I've been taking this family into great consideration." He began, and sure enough his ex wife was looking less than pleased at the direction he was going with the conversation.

"When your daughter openly and very loudly disgraced the West name at our dinner outing, I realized exactly who is at fault here and it the majority of it is not hers." He finished his sentence with implications that Katherine was to blame for nearly the entirety of Jade's demeanor. The woman scoffed and held up a hand as she slowly stood from the couch.

"I'm going to stop you right there, James. She acts this way because you _left_ her. You abandoned her and she grew up without her father while you went on and got a whole new family. Tell me, James, how would you expect her to react to meeting the people that her own father left her for? Do you think that was wise on your part? Because I can say, with confidence, that it was a very _stupid_ idea." Katherine had gotten closer as she spoke and she ended with her finger pointed at him accusingly. James bit his tongue as she berated him and he continued to pull at his tie.

"I will be the first to admit that I wasn't there for Jade either because I never fully got out of all the stress that you leaving inflicted. I had to not only work my job but pick up another as well in order to keep this damned house! Not to mention I was dealing with an alcohol addiction for the better part of Jade's teenage life. Alone. Now she hates both of us, so how is that for your little ex-family _consideration_?" Katherine finished by stalking over to the front door and pulling it open, watching James' confliction before he walked out of the house with his chin jutted out in defiance. Maybe Katherine was right.

* * *

The next day, Jade trudged through the house with heavy eyes and a slightly disheveled appearance. Her project afterschool had taken longer than she anticipated and dealing with amateur screenwriters for one of her classmate's plays was grating on her last nerve.

Her combat boots clomped down the hallway toward the kitchen, the intention being to retrieve a bottle of the first caffeinated beverage she laid eyes on before retreating to her room. However when she entered the kitchen, the sight before her made her stop in her tracks. Both her mother and father were sitting at the barstools at the island table, waiting for her arrival. Upon entrance, her mother stood from her seat and walked over to Jade.

"Jade, you're home late." Katherine began, taking in her exhausted appearance. Jade's bright blue eyes snapped to her and narrowed with the scowl that appeared on her face.

"Can you quit the small talk and tell me what the hell is he doing here?" Jade asked sharply, nodding her head in her father's direction.

'That's what we're going to talk to you about. About him being here, being around more." Katherine started with a pleading look in her eyes.

"My wife, Rachel, the kids, and I are moving here. Tamzin is auditioning for Hollywood Arts to get in for the rest of her Junior year and Taylor will be attending the preschool down the street from your school." James reported while Jade stood there in total shock, disbelief etched into her features. The phrase 'this could not get any worse' flitted through her mind for a split second, right before he continued.

"We're moving here because I've realized what my absence has done to you and your mother and I would like us all to be able to get along. That being said, your mother and I have discussed having a joint dinner on Friday to re-introduce each other and our households."

Being at a complete loss for words to express the anger and horror Jade was feeling at that moment, she turned on her heel and practically ran back down the hallway and through the front door. She didn't even realize where she was going until she was banging on Tori's front door. Ms. Vega opened the front door and saw the panicked look on Jade's pale face. What really worried her was that she was paler than usual and maybe even a little green.

Without stopping for explanations, Jade was taking the stairs up to Tori's room two at a time. Her fingers gripped the doorknob of Tori's bedroom door and pushed it open, closing it behind her at the same time that she allowed her tears of frustration to leak down her cheeks. Tori was standing in front of her in an instant, her warm hands cupping Jade's cheeks and using her thumbs to brush away the tears.

"What happened, Jay?" The brunette asked worriedly, placing soft, comforting kisses on Jade's forehead.

"They're moving here. My father and his fucking family are _moving here_ _to 'bond' with us_!" Jade was raising her voice as she went and eventually her words turned into her turning and punching the tan girl's lavender painted wall. It let her release her anger for a second, but it and the pain flared up again moments later as she clutched her fist and held it between her thighs to stop the red hot pain that followed after the blow.

Tori gathered the irrational girl in her arms and sat down on the bed with Jade in her lap. The pale girl cried angrily into the brown eyed girl's shoulder. She couldn't understand why her father couldn't just leave her and her mother alone. Why was her mother even condoning this? They would have been fine had he just stayed away as he had for the last handful of years. Now he was shoving himself and his new family into her life and she hated him for it. The problem wasn't that he was gone, it was the fact that he was attempting, and succeeding, in coming back.

After her harsh sobs and periodic string of curses subsided into sniffles, Tori laid with her on the bed, curled around each other like their own personal life lines. Tori continued to murmur soothing things in the raven haired girl's ear until Jade used the back of her fingers to wipe her eyes of the lingering tears.

"Thank you…for y'know. For being you." Jade cracked a half smile as she stared into Tori's coffee brown eyes that stared right back at her. Tori pressed a gentle kiss to the pale woman's lips and her arms snaked around Jade's waist.

Pale arms reached up to cup the back of Tori's neck and pull her even closer. Tori's teeth began to nip at Jade's bottom lip until the Goth parted her lips and allowed Tori's tongue to slide against hers. Jade's free hand slid down Tori's arm to intertwine their fingers and rest their hands between their bodies. The blue eyed woman eventually swung her leg over Tori's hips and sat up, straddling her. Raven tresses fell down around her face, placing a curtain around her and Tori's heated kisses.

Tori pulled her hand from Jade's and moved it to slide into the Goth's hair. Jade's hands traveled down to Tori's stomach and pulled gently on her shirt, waiting on the half-Latina to nod her approval before she pulled the fabric over the tan girl's head and threw it off to the side somewhere. Pale fingers traced the outline of Tori's pale pink bra with a gentleness that surprised them both. When she noted that said bra hooked in the front, she was only slightly grateful for the simplicity of removing the piece of clothing.

Tori felt goose bumps raise on her arms as she lay, from the waist up, exposed to Jade. A soft smile pulled on the pale woman's lips as she took in the perfection that was her girlfriend. Before she could do anything else, however, Tori pushed her hands away and tugged off Jade's leather jacket first, and her black lace shirt next. Jade, clad in her jeans, black lace bra, and combat boots, was attempting to continue before she could allow her nerves to take over.

She kicked off her boots, which pulled off her socks as they came off, and she continued her kisses on Tori's neck. The half-Latina's breath hitched in her throat as Jade began nipping at her collar bone and shoulders. The Goth's lips caressed nearly every inch of skin that was exposed to her before she finally reached the barrier that was Tori's pajama pants. Pale fingers hooked into the waistband of the pants and pulled them down slowly, her eyebrow raising as she looked at Tori in amusement.

"You sleep in your bra but not your underwear?" The pale girl smirked, and the small action was accompanied by the sound of her pants hitting the carpeted floor.

A blush crawled up Tori's neck to her cheeks at the look in Jade's eyes as she lowered her head to nip, then kiss her thighs. The blue eyed woman locked eyes with Tori as she ran her tongue through her folds and caressed her clit softly. Tori stopped breathing altogether in order to hold back the moan that threatened to claw its way up her throat. Her tan fingers wound themselves through Jade's hair as she took in a large breath to make up for the air that was taken from her upon contact. Jade's fingers parted Tori's lower lips before she ran her tongue once more through the wetness she found there. Brown eyes squeezed shut as Jade continued to lick and suck at her clit.

When the pale woman entered one finger inside of Tori's dripping heat, then another, she began pumping harshly in and out of the half-Latina. Tori gasped as she bit her lip to hold back the noises Jade was eliciting from her. The rough movements slowed to gentle motions right as Tori was on the very edge of climax. The tan woman whimpered in protest and were she not coming apart at Jade's hands, she would have glared at her for the husky chuckle she heard from between her legs.

Tori began grinding her hips down on Jade's fingers for more friction, but when Jade's free hand held down her down, she was at a loss. Those fingers still moved at a leisurely pace inside of her, then without warning, Jade was pumping back into her center and sucking on her throbbing, swollen clit. The curling of Jade's fingers up against that spot that made her see stars was enough to throw Tori off the edge. The half-Latina turned her head and untangled her hand from Jade's hair to push side of her pillow against her face and stifle her long, satisfied moan.

Pale fingers slowed their movements and brought her down gently. When brown eyes fluttered open, Jade was sitting up, straddling Tori's legs, and licking her glistening fingers clean. Tori's hand reached out to grab Jade by the middle of her bra and tug her down over her body. Tori crashed their lips together with an urgency that had Jade shifting uncomfortably in her jeans. Her pale fingers were already unbuttoning her pants before Tori could even get the words out.

"Your turn." Tori husked into Jade's ear before flipping the pale girl over and pressing their lips together.

Meanwhile downstairs, Holly Vega looked up at the sudden sound of what she knew was a headboard banging against the wall. She shook her head with a chuckle and stood to grab her jacket. Maybe staying at her friend's house for the night was a wise idea.

* * *

**A/N: **I haven't written smut in about two years, haha. Sorry if it sucked. Anyway, the idea of moving Mr. West & friends to LA came from Pretty Little Liars and if you watch the show like I do, you know what I'm talking about. I've rewritten this chapter about three times because it just didn't feel right but I think a month is more than enough time to keep people waiting, so here it is! Any mistakes are mine.

Review and tell me your thoughts, yeah? They make my day.


	18. Abandonment Issues

**Chapter 17**

* * *

The next week after Mr. West and company moved in completely to their new house, not too far away from Jade's own, Tamzin had miraculously gotten a late acceptance into Los Angeles' most prestigious performing arts school.

Jade didn't know specifically what talent that girl could possibly posses, yet she couldn't bring herself to care enough to snoop around and find out. Jade strutted into the school with all of the confidence she usually carried, though she had no doubt in her mind that her day would be shitty beyond belief.

With all of the drama that she had been through the past couple of months, the feeling that she was much stronger than before only fueled her confidence. Cat was waiting by her locker that day, much to the pale girl's displeasure.

She wasn't at all upset to see Cat, it was more of the fact that she knew she had been neglecting the little redhead and it would only take so long for her to call Jade out on it. Her usual smirk pulled at her lips in greeting as the petite girl stepped aside and allowed Jade space to unlock her locker.

The hallways were alive with people goofing around with their respective instruments, dance routines, and some group was doing an entire pop mash-up, all acapella, down the hall. There were twenty minuets before class started and unlike most schools, these students strived to get there early just so that they could showcase their talent in friendly competition.

Once the raven haired girl had collected all of her books, she shut her locker and turned toward Cat, wondering why the girl had yet to say anything.

"What's up, Cat?" Jade asked, hesitance edging in her voice. The redhead opened her mouth to respond when her eyes fell upon something or some_one_ across the hall.

"Isn't that the girl you told me about in Layton's class yesterday?" Cat asked in pure curiosity. Jade whirled around with a look of panic flashing in her eyes for the briefest of seconds. Even through its appearance, she hid it well enough that no one would have understood what that look was even if they did catch it.

A short brunette with dark brown eyes walked in the building, staring down at several papers in her hands. Jade knew that it had to have been her schedule and her hand tensed around the screenwriting textbook she held in her right hand.

"Son of a bitch." The dark haired girl muttered to herself before dragging Cat the opposite direction in hopes of avoiding her father's step daughter.

"Jade! Hey, Jade!" The girl piped up when she noticed their retreating figures. Jade groaned inwardly and turned around with the fakest, most sarcastic smile she could muster. Her icy blue eyes landed on dark brown ones that she had definitely grown to despise since the first time the owner of those eyes had opened her mouth. The girl ran over, or shuffled considering her heels, her bright sundress billowing around her smaller form and multi-colored accessories clanking together.

The redhead beside Jade had to hold back a snicker at the raven haired girl's obvious distaste. The new student's eyes were still glued to her paper as she approached and she opened her mouth to begin a question about where her first period class was until she lifted her gaze and her eyes landed on Jade's all black ensemble. With a light snort, she attempted a smirk that was nowhere near as impressive as Jade's and looked the Goth up and down.

"Wow, you dress like that at school too? Social suicide much? We can totally take you shopping so you don't look so…gross." Tamzin nodded matter-of-factly. Jade's nostrils flared slightly as she took a threatening step forward, eyeing the girl with a look so intense that the short brunette took a step back from shock.

They had gathered quite the crowd. Everyone knew that the _real _social suicide was crossing Jade West. The new girl had made a very bad first impression, to them, since they had no idea that she and Jade had met prior to this school day.

The fact that this new girl was clearly not old enough to be a senior as Jade was only made it worse. Jade treated anyone in a lower grade ten times worse and to that day, no one knew why. They weren't even sure if Jade knew herself.

"Oh, I'm _sorry_... were we all supposed to dress stupid today?" The pale girl started, taking an intimidating step closer and gesturing to the obnoxiously bright colors that Tamzin was wearing. At least Cat had stepped her way up and upgraded to pastels that didn't blind people on sight.

A few chuckles were heard from around the crowd of people who hadn't particularly crowded around them, just that all of the commotion had ceased as everyone turned their attention on the three girls. Cat stood with an amused grin as she placed her hands on her hips and watched the scene unfold.

"Or is this the thing now? Do we dress up like a couple of preschoolers puked their lucky charms and fruity pebbles all over us? I mean… you look horrible." Jade continued to the point where she was basically laughing at the shorter girl's expense. She turned to the hallway full of people watching and gestured at them.

"Am I wrong?" Jade asked them and the rest of the school in attendance tried and failed to bite back their laughter. Typically whatever Jade said, they agreed regardless, yet that time she was spot on and they all _did_ agree. Tamzin looked like an overzealous kindergartener with all of the clashing colors on her body.

"Just because you add every color of the rainbow to your outfit, doesn't mean that it matches. That's a word of advice. Use it." The Goth smirked and spun on her heel to make her way to the choir room where she hung out sometimes before class.

Cat grinned falsely and waved at the mortified and distraught girl before following her former friend with benefits. Tamzin's blood would have been boiling and she would have ripped into Jade had she been at her old school, yet this place had an entirely different set of rules, ones that were not at all in her favor.

It was clear that Jade was in control at Hollywood Arts and the insults, as she would soon find out, were much more creative and hurtful there than they were at her previous school. Partially because the students were all eloquent and could make her feel horrible using words that she didn't even know the definition of.

Of course Hollywood Arts was a generally nice and accepting school, but insult Jade West and you're immediately blackballed. She found that out the hard way.

* * *

Jade arrived home later than usual, her meeting with Sikowitz and a few of her classmates for the production of his new play taking up her time until around six. It seemed to be an un-breaking pattern that she would trudge into her home with every desire to not be there, maybe get yelled at, and then lie in her room and isolate herself for the rest of the night.

It was depressing when she thought about it. Almost as if on cue, her father walked up to her from where he sat on the living room couch. Jade groaned and glared up at him.

"You know, I could have sworn you have your_ own_ house now. Why are you at mine?" Jade scowled as he blocked her path to the stairs that would lead her to her safe haven.

"Tamzin called me right after school." He began and Jade rolled her eyes with an irritated sigh.

"Still not a good enough reason." The pale girl grumbled.

"She told me that you got her shunned over there. What the hell is wrong with you, Jade?" He sighed in exasperation.

"What the hell is wrong with _me? _As far as we're all concerned, this is _your_ fault! No one wanted her here. No one wanted _you_ here. No one _asked_ either of you to come and barge into our lives _once again_, yet here you fucking are." Jade growled, more menacing than she had been the previous times. Mr. West cleared his throat uncomfortably and reached up to loosen the tie around his neck which had suddenly become constricting.

"You're eighteen now, Jade! It's time for you to get over the whole, '_I hate mommy and daddy_' rebellion phase and grow the fuck up!" The sharp tone of voice had startled Jade in all honesty, not that she allowed it to show.

"What do you want from me?" The raven haired girl suddenly shouted, a look of desperation coating her features. Her father was taken aback by the look in her eyes and it unnerved him to know that he caused it.

"I want you to grow up, I just said-" He began, but Jade cut him off.

"No, what did you suddenly decide to come back for? We were finally getting along without you and then you show up and rub your new life in me and mom's face! That's sick and sadistic, James! You know that? She was going to get help and get better; I would have made sure of it if she hadn't done it on her own. We were going to be just fine without you and you came and messed everything up all over again." Jade hissed angrily and she was shocked to find that her body had betrayed her and tears were forming in her blue eyes.

She rarely ever cried, yet the sudden rush of emotion that overtook her was strong. For the first time in a while, James West was speechless.

"Don't you get it? For once in your life, could you just listen to me long enough to understand this? You're not helping! You're making everything worse!" Jade angrily swiped the back of her hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears before they could fall.

She shoved her shoulder against his side and pushed him out of the way in order for her to make it up the stairs. Once she was finally locked inside of her room, she fell face first onto her bed and took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

She wasn't sure how long she had lain there, but the sudden vibration of her phone made her look up and fumble for it's spot in her back pocket. The red device was finally answered with a voice thick with emotion.

"Hello?" Jade croaked.

"Jay? What's wrong, baby?" Tori was on the other line, concern lacing her voice.

"Nothing. My dad…" Jade trailed off, not exactly feeling up to a tirade at the moment. Tori nodded on the other line though Jade couldn't see her.

"You don't wanna talk about it?" The half-Latina asked softly from the other line. Jade looked down at her hands in her lap and sniffed slightly.

"Sorry." She mumbled and Tori frowned sympathetically at how defeated her girlfriend sounded.

"It's okay. You're okay." Tori reassured the Goth and Jade instantly felt ten times better than she had before the call.

"I love you." The blue eyed girl smiled a little, rolling her eyes at herself. When the hell did she get so mushy?

"I love you more, Jay." Tori grinned from the other end of the line and cleared her throat quickly.

"I um, I need go back to New York for a few days. Maybe a week." The half-Latina murmured to her girlfriend over the phone. Jade's eyebrows dug down immediately and her breath caught in her throat.

"What? Why?" A tight feeling gripped Jade's chest and she felt like she couldn't breathe for a few moments. She was counting on Tori to be there for moral support the next few days. She was dealing with a lot and honestly, Tori was the only person who could make her feel better with just her mere presence. The familiar feeling of abandonment froze Jade in place and she couldn't move until Tori answered her.

"Jade, calm down. I swear I'll be back by next Monday. My old roommate, he's pretty sick and I need to make sure he's alright." Tori explained gently, knowing this was a horrible time to tell Jade she had to leave, though it seemed that lately, every time was a terrible time.

"So what? I'm your girlfriend, Tori. You're… you're supposed to be here for me when I need you. This is one of those times!" Jade felt like she was on the brink of begging when Tori spoke up again next.

"He was, still is, my best friend, Jay. I can't abandon him like this! Please don't be selfish right now." Tori spoke in a tone that was easily taken as condescending. Tori was the last person she needed talking to her as if she were a child.

"Don't you fucking leave me, Vega!" Jade pleaded with more tears in her eyes. She had been knocked down just a little bit too far tonight. Now the only person she trusted aside from her best friend wasn't going to be there to help her back up. Tori could hear the sadness and desperation in her voice and her heart clenched at the sound. It reminded her too much of the day she left ten year old Jade at the airport when she left for college.

"Baby, I love you so much. Okay? But I can't stay here right now while my closest friend is in the hospital, sick. I won't." Tori pleaded with her girlfriend, though she knew that the girl was already on the verge of breaking down. Suddenly, a frighteningly calm voice floated through the other line. Tori's palms broke into a sweat because she knew that voice. The result could be far from good if she didn't say exactly what Jade wanted to hear in the next few moments.

"When are you leaving?" Jade's voice was eerily calm.

"Tomorrow, but I'll be ba-" The line went dead as the raven haired girl hung up and Jade stared down at the device as if it disgusted her. She calmly set it down on her bedside table after hooking it up to the charger and putting the phone on silent. The pale girl quickly changed into a tank top and sweats to sleep in and as she pulled the covers over her head and fell into a restless sleep, the five times that Tori called her back went unanswered.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the late update, I literally just got my laptop back today. I'm also so sorry for the angst, but it needs to happen so that the events in the next chapter can happen :) I also thought about having a designated day a week to update so that this whole thing can be more organized with school starting and everything? There's a choice between Monday's and Friday's so make sure you let me know in a review, as well as how you liked the chapter. Any mistakes are mine, just let me know :)

**Announcement: **This fic was nominated in The Topaz Awards and of course I'm thrilled, so go check that out, yeah?

**Next Time:** Katherine defends Jade against James' wife and Cat confronts Jade about feeling neglected.


	19. Please Say You Love Me Back

**Chapter 18**

* * *

Jade had just gotten in from school the next day, fully prepared to go up to her room and sleep the rest of her life away.

She'd gone through the day with a migraine that simply refused to leave her the hell alone. Tamzin had been shooting smug looks at her all day, but with the residual anger from the night before, she hadn't had the patience, or deemed the girl worthy enough of her time to waste her breath telling her off.

Combat boots clomped up the first few stairs when Jade heard her name being called from the kitchen.

It wasn't a voice that she was overly familiar with, yet she had heard it just enough that she knew her migraine would probably get ten times worse by the time she was safely in her bedroom. A heavy sigh pressed through her lips as she turned on her heel and made her way to the kitchen with a very pissed off expression.

Before Jade could even round the corner to get into the kitchen, she had already spoken the first thing that had come to her mind.

"Why the hell are you in my house?"

Rachel, the new Mrs. West, was sat on the barstool in the kitchen. Blue eyes narrowed at the sight and the brunette adult shot her a hard glare, completely contrasting from her typically peppy personality. The woman's brown hair was swept up into an intricate bun atop her head and her red lipstick stood out against her tanned skin.

"James told me that you smeared my daughter's name in Hollywood Arts." The angry woman began in a voice that was far too calm for Jade's liking.

"So when I asked her about it, she told me that you've got the entire school saying that she's a slut." That eerily calm voice continued and Jade's arched eyebrows shot up at the accusation. A scoff exited her lips on reflex and she laughed in the woman's face.

"Jesus Christ. I don't even owe you an explanation, but since you're so horribly ignorant to what's really happening, I'll enlighten you. Your daughter-"

Rachel cut her off with a sharp glare and the sudden standing from the barstool. Jade's body tensed subconsciously, her reflexes and subconscious readying her body for confrontation.

"I don't need you to enlighten a damn thing about _my daughter_. I _do_ know that you're an ungrateful little _bitch_ that can't take her head out of her ass long enough to realize what your father has sacrificed for you!"

Jade's eyes widened in incredulous shock and laughter actually bubbled up from her throat in complete astonishment.

"Wow, I can't imagine that leaving my mom and I, marrying _you_ of all people, then dropping in out of nowhere with his new son and daughter shoved in our faces would have had such a _horrible_ effect on you all. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience." Jade finished with a sarcastic grin, leaning back against the refrigerator, it's motor providing background noise to the argument.

Suddenly a sharp smack rang out in the room and for a second Jade wondered what it was until the rush of heat and pain gathered on the side of her face where a red handprint lingered.

"_What the hell is going on in here_?" Katherine rushed into the kitchen, holding several bags of groceries, sunglasses perched on the top of her head and her purse hanging precariously off the tip of her fingers. Her look was disheveled, as if she had rushed into the house.

Rachel's dark brown eyes flashed to Jade's mother and her face paled when she realized that she wasn't just dealing with an eighteen year old. Jade was still standing in complete shock, her pale hand pressed to her cheek, not able to process what just happened. Katherine's blue eyes raked over her daughter, checking for damage, when she noticed the redness on the side of her face, peeking out from beneath her hand.

"Did you seriously hit my _fucking child_?" Katherine set the bags down on the floor and took a threatening step toward Rachel's tensed body.

"She slut shamed Tamzin and she's been acting like a little _bitch_ since I've met her!" Rachel, unwisely, continued to insult the pale girl who was staring in disbelief at her father's wife. Katherine's arm shot out and her hand wrapped around the other woman's throat as she stepped close enough to smell the mint gum on the woman's breath.

"I swear on my life that if you place your hands anywhere near my daughter again, I _will_ kill you. I have no problem, now that she's an adult, sitting in a jail cell for the rest of my time on this earth if it means that you're out of our god damn life." Katherine declared with a deadly calmness that left the other woman's hands sweating and her heart stuffed in her stomach.

When Katherine let go, Rachel threw one last, spiteful glare at the mother and daughter before standing and walking out of the house with as much dignity as she could muster.

Katherine turned and picked up the groceries from the floor and set them on the table as if she didn't just threaten someone else's life. She removed her sunglasses from her head and placed them, and her purse, on the counter before turning to look at Jade.

Blue eyes were locked on her in a mixture of awe and utter confusion. Her pale hand dropped from her cheek and she opened her mouth to say something, anything, to her mother. No words left her lips though, and Katherine took a hesitant step over to her speechless daughter.

The older woman sighed tiredly and muttered a quiet, "Come here." Before pulling Jade into her arms and holding her close to her body. The raven haired girl hesitated for a moment before wrapping her arms around her mother, undeniably grateful for her presence.

"I know I'm not here for you. I know that I haven't been here, for quite some time, because of the drinking. But Jade, have no doubt that I love you. I'm going to try and show it more often, but I do." Katherine continued to reassure her and promise to be a better parent even though Jade would be leaving to college soon.

In reality, it shouldn't be too late for her to be there for her daughter. So as they stood there, hugging in the kitchen, Jade relaxed in her mother's arms and squeezed her back with enough force to knock the breath out of the older woman.

* * *

Later on that night, Jade made an impromptu visit to Cat's house, needing to get out of her own after the emotional air of her home became stifling. When she rang the doorbell to the redhead's house, the door opened immediately to show a grinning brown eyed girl.

Cat pulled Jade in and the next thing Jade knew, they were laying on the couch together, watching 90's rerun episodes on Nick. Cat's foot bounced every few seconds and eventually Jade turned to her and grabbed the remote, muting the television.

"What's wrong?" Jade demanded more than asked, seeing the foot bouncing as a tell-tale sign of Cat worrying over something. The redhead huffed and pulled her knees up to her chest, keeping her eyes straight ahead on the silent TV. She mumbled something under her breath low enough that even with the silence in the house, Jade still couldn't understand.

"What?" The pale woman asked, her eyebrows furrowing curiously.

"I said that I feel like you forgot about me since you and Tori started dating." Cat muttered, this time loud enough for the other occupant of the couch to hear her.

Jade's eyebrows rose in surprise as she turned completely in her seat to look at her best friend and ex-lover.

"What makes you say that?" Jade asked, even though deep in her heart, she knew exactly what the other girl was talking about.

"You literally only came by here today because Tori's not available, right? Don't even lie to me, Jade." The redhead said forcefully, wrapping her arms around her legs and glaring at the raven haired woman.

Jade sighed heavily and placed her forehead in her palm before dragging that hand down her face.

"She left for New York. Also, we're not…talking at the moment." Jade admitted, then regretted telling the truth immediately when Cat's bright brown eyes narrowed to angry slits.

"So what am I? Your rebound girl? The chick you call up when you and your girlfriend get in a fight? I'm not _that_ girl Jade. You're don't get to treat me like some second choice." Cat declared, standing from the couch and towering over the pale woman.

"No, Cat, of course you're not a rebound! You're my best friend, and yeah I've gotten caught up with Vega, but-"

"There is no _but_, Jade. Now I know how you felt when Tori left for college and forgot all about you." Cat struck with a low blow that she knew would deeply hurt the other girl, and it worked. Jade's eyebrows dug down and her heart throbbed hollowly in her chest.

The thought that Cat had ever felt that way, because of her, hurt plenty on it's own. Never mind how much remembering that time in which she suffered from being ignored by the one person that stole her heart and took it to The Big Apple with her caused her physical pain.

"I never wanted you to feel that way." Jade began slowly, not meeting Cat's angered gaze.

"But when Tori and I are together, the rest of the world just doesn't exist. When you find someone that you fall in love with, you'll understand." The blue eyed woman said quietly, crossing her arms over her chest and feeling her heart slam against her ribcage.

"Damn it, Jade! I love _you_! I stuck by you and Tori, I just wanted to see you happy. I don't even know exactly when it happened, but it hadn't crept up on me until a right before she came back. I literally get _so jealous _when you blow me off for Tori, or when you talk about Tori, or when all that ever leaves your mouth it Tori, _Tori, __**Tori**_!"

Jade stared at Cat with a look of incredulity as her mouth hung slightly open. Suddenly that look contorted to one of a person who was just _tired_. Jade buried her face in her hands and muttered a worn-out, "Oh my God." Jade suddenly felt the weight of everything that she had dealt with leading up to that moment invade her mind and sit on her shoulders.

This was the last thing that she needed, if she was being honest with herself.

"Cat… Oh my God." That was the only thing that Jade could get out of her mouth in that moment. She stood up and practically towered over the petite redhead, pulling her into a crushing hug and pressing her lips to the girl's forehead.

"Please don't say that. You just-you can't be in love with me. I know that doesn't make sense, but just- don't. For your sake and mine. Whatever feelings you have for me need to not…exist." Jade murmured into the smaller girl's hair and then pulled back enough to stare into those chocolate brown eyes. Cat's face was flushed with the exertion of her yelling and her eyes were wide and watery, red hair slightly ruffled from their hug but otherwise hung around her shoulders in loose ringlets.

"Promise me you'll find someone else." Jade said with eyes that suddenly looked twenty years older than the woman that possessed them.

"Jade it's not that easy to-" Cat cut herself off when she saw the look in Jade's eyes and then, hesitantly, she nodded and pursed her lips.

"Fine. Promise." The redhead sighed and pulled away slowly, taking one last look at Jade before turning off the muted TV and heading up the stairs.

"Go home, Jade." The petite girl muttered as she reached the last step, just loud enough for Jade to hear her. The pale woman sighed deeply and pushed her fingers through her hair before turning the other way and letting herself out.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, considering that I'm half sleep right now and it's midnight but I'm determined to upload this on Friday (very early Saturday). So Fridays were picked for uploads, so here I am. (barely). Any mistakes are mine, feel free to point them out if you see any. Thank you all so much for the support and the reviews and favorites/alerts. They mean the world, really.

**Announcement: **As you all know, this fic was nominated for The Topaz Awards, so if you feel so inclined, please go over to the forums and vote for it!

**Next Time: **Jade helps Tamzin out in a bad situation and Mr. West gets some news that he doesn't quite like.


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